Chandigarh, August 29
Ridiculing Congressional MP Partap Singh Bajwa for trying to score political points over the alleged Rs 55.71 crore scholarship scam, Punjab’s Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Saturday that if he had believed in following the raj jungle, reportedly fired Bajwa in 2002-2007 when the later PWD minister was under the radar in the bitumen scam and some other cases.
Reacting to Bajwa’s demand for the resignation of Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in the alleged scholarship scam, Amarinder said the Rajya Sabha MP was behaving like an opposition leader whose only agenda was to attack the government at all and each of the topics.
The Chief Minister confronted Bajwa for taking every opportunity to criticize his own party’s government, as a two-bit Opposition leader who has no constructive problem to raise.
Clearly, Bajwa has a hidden agenda, the Chief Minister said, adding that the myriad of recent anti-party actions by the MP had exposed his intention to undermine Congress in Punjab, where he stood on a very strong footing.
Amarinder recalled that Bajwa himself faced serious accusations and accusations as PWD minister between 2002 and 2007, including those related to irregularities in the purchase of bitumen worth millions of rupees.
As prime minister, he (Amarinder) could also have given in to pressure from the opposition to fire him, he noted, adding that he believes in the rule of law.
The Chief Minister said that, as in the case of Bajwa then, he would not let unfounded and unsubstantiated accusations dictate his actions in the present case as well, even if his own parliamentary party was joining forces with the Opposition on the issue.
Citing Bajwa’s unbridled criticism of his government and party in Punjab, Amarinder said the MP’s actions were highly questionable and were not the sign of a loyal party member.
Amid the pandemic, the deputy, far from supporting his own government’s efforts to combat the multitude of problems facing the state, was actively undermining his authority, which was totally unacceptable, he added.
By attacking his own party and government in the state, Bajwa was playing into the hands of the Opposition, Amarinder said, adding that the party’s high command should arrest the MP for what clearly amounted to gross indiscipline.
While constructive criticism within the party or in a government forum was always welcome, repeatedly attacking his own party and government in the media and public platforms, as Bajwa had been persistently doing for several months, could not be construed as anything other than an anti-party act. added the Chief Minister.
IANS
