Chandigarh, March 6: To win the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll, the Congress government showered a lion’s share (25 per cent) from the ministers’ discretionary grants on the district. Information obtained through the RTI Act revealed that since the formation of the Congress government last year, the state government spent Rs 19.73 crore under the discretionary grants in the entire state.
Each minister gets Rs 3 crore annually, of which he cannot spend more than half in his constituency.Out of the total amount, Rs 5.07 crore was spent alone in Gurdaspur district. After the death of BJP MP Vinod Khanna, the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant.
Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar won it in October last year.Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Tript Rajinder Bajwa, who himself comes from Gurdaspur district, spent Rs 1.49 crore in the district, the then Power and Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh 1.48 crore and PWD Minister Razia Sultana Rs 1.2 crore.
Parvinder Singh Kittna, a Nawanshahr-based RTI activist who got the information, said the pattern of spending clearly revealed that the government was too kind on the Gurdaspur district.
“The byelection can’t be a sheer coincident. It seems that the grants were used to swing votes,” he said.Gurdaspur is followed by Sangrur district, where Rs 3.01 crore was spent. This was followed by Patiala Rs 2.82 crore, Ropar Rs 2.19 crore and SAS Nagar Rs 1.91 crore.
When it comes to individual performance of the ministers, the then Power and Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh tops the chart with spending Rs 2.98 crore, followed by Tript Rajinder Bajwa Rs 2.94 crore, Forest and Wildlife Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot Rs 2.92 crore, Razia Sultana Rs 2.76 crore and Technical Education Minister Charanjeet Singh Channi Rs 2.1 crore.
Among the worst performers, Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu spent just Rs 7 lakh from the grant.
Source Tribune India
