Days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met top officers from Punjab in the national capital, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended the meeting and said that officials were there for training.
Mann said that it was his decision to send top bureaucrats from Punjab to Delhi for meeting with Kejriwal.
According to TOI, Mann further said that if required he will send his officers to Delhi or to other states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu or wherever he feels there is something good to see and learn.
I can send them to Israel also: Mann
If I feel like it, I can send them to Israel also, he added.
After the meeting, the opposition parties cornered the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and alleged that the Delhi CM was ruling Punjab through “remote control” and termed Bhagwant Mann as a “rubber stamp” Chief Minister.
Punjab Congress Legislative Party leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said that the Punjab government is running from Delhi and not from Chandigarh.
“Two days ago Arvind Kejriwal called Punjab’s Chief Secretary, Power Secretary to Delhi. He held a meeting in the absence of the Punjab CM. This is unconstitutional and is indirect control on Punjab,” Bajwa tweeted.
Arvind Kejriwal has taken over Punjab long before expected: Amarinder Singh
Former CM of Punjab and Punjab Lok Congress chief Amarinder Singh also took swipe at AAP saying the worst fear has come true and Arvind Kejriwal has taken over Punjab long before expected.
“Worst was feared, worst happened. Arvind Kejriwal has taken over Punjab much before it was expected to happen. That Bhagwant Mann is a rubber stamp was a foregone conclusion already, now Kejriwal has proved it right by chairing Punjab officers’ meeting in Delhi,” said the Captain.
The opposition also asked Mann to safeguard the interests of the state and ensure that it is not subject to remote control rule by the AAP government in Delhi or be taken over by the Centre.
