Chandigarh, July 12
The Congress (Indian National) party had taken crores as funds from private power companies to set up power plants in Punjab and Shiromani Akali Dal Badal had got stake in the plants. Disclosing this here on Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann said that Congress and Akali Dal had also sold Punjab’s electricity worth crores. Addressing the media during a press conference held at the party headquarters here on Monday, Bhagwant Mann said that three private power companies had set up their power plants in Punjab and the Congress party had taken Rs 15.35 crore from all these companies.
Mann said that Congress party had earlier taken Rs 1 crore, then Rs 2.50 crore and third time Rs 5 crore as fund. Similarly, an amount of Rs 5 and 2 crore respectively, have been received from the company for setting up the power plant at Rajpura, while Rs 10 lakh has been received from GBK company as funds. He said that this was the reason why the Congress government was not canceling the private power deals as the power companies had showered money to the National President of the Congress party.
Commenting on Captain Amarinder Singh, Mann said, “The hands of the Congress government are stained with bribes.” Speaking on the power deals made by SAD-BJP, he said that SAD president Sukhbir Badal had not taken money from the power companies but had owned share in the power plants which was not a hidden fact across Punjab. Mann said that Sukhbir Badal was aware of the bribe taken by the Congress party and that was why he was challenging Captain Amarinder Singh to cancel the power deals. He also lashed out at former minister and Congress leader Navjot Sidhu and asked him to send a tweet about the crores taken by Congress party from power companies.
Mann clarified that the AAP has demanded in the court to upgrade the power plants, which are written as guidelines in the plan of the central government for private power plants, but Sukhbir Badal while signing agreements with private power companies did not included these guidelines. He said that it was necessary to renovate the power plants to curb the air and water pollution which was spreading due to these plants which is becoming main reason behind deadly health issues like cancer and asthma. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party is working hard to provide clean environment and water to the people of Punjab including the country as well as to give corruption free governance to the people of Punjab.
