Chandigarh, March 15: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab wing chief and Sangrur Member of Parliament (MP) Bhagwant Mann has slammed the Captain Amarinder Singh-led government for deliberately delaying the process of starting international air flights to various parts of the world from Amritsar Airport.
Interacting with scribes on Friday here, Mann stressed the need for starting direct international air flights between Canada, Europe, America and Amritsar and Chandigarh, thus saving a vast majority of beneficiaries from various parts of Punjab and its neighboring states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, et al from the unmerited harassment meted out to them.
He said the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh should take up the issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take an urgent call on the issue thereby saving the people of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and parts of Haryana from the unmerited harassment being meted out to them in the absence of regular int’l flights.
Mann expressed his displeasure over the pending issue of paramount importance which concerns among others, Punjabis, especially the NRIs and others who were subjected to great hardships in the absence of regular flights worldwide from Amritsar Airport. He accused the government of keeping the much-awaited project pending till date due to its lackadaisical stance of the preceding BJP-SAD and now the Congress government staying in power for longer spells.
AAP MP accused the government of colluding with a mighty transport and airport mafia in the state, including the Badal clan as transporters, leading to the stalling of the process of starting up-down direct international flight to countries like Canada, Europe, America and Australia.
Mann reiterated that Canada government had already come up with the proposal and a draft in regard thereto was awaiting clearance from the Indian counterpart for kick starting direct int’l flight between Abbotsford and Sri Amritsar Sahib and Vancouver and Chandigarh. He informed that the proposal had been gathering dust in official files as the dispensation was in no mood to act upon it, leaving millions of NRIs from Punjab and elsewhere to bear the brunt by paying through noses.
Mann further said that the union government was under pressure from a strong mafia lords ruling the roost in the state, which finally led to stalling direct international flights running successfully for Sri Amritsar Sahib International Airport had to discontinue, he alleged.
He threatened that if the government failed to address the problem of plenty sooner than later, the AAP would be left with no choice but to take road route to Vidhan Sabha and Parliament House in Delhi to make the deaf government hear.
