Navjot Sidhu challenges Badal for open debate
FIRING SALVO Minister accuses Badals of looting the state through cable, transport mafia
SEECHEWAL (JALANDHAR): Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Seechewal to see the working of sewage treatment plant on Saturday. Sidhu said the state government will soon adopt the Seechewal model.
During the visit Sidhu targeted the Badal family. He called the former chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, a ‘python’.
He said, “Badal has swallowed the state’s glory and minted money through cable mafia, transport mafia, benami (unaccounted) properties during his 10-year regime.”
Citing example of ‘Ali Baba and Chalis Chor’ (40 thieves) Sidhu said, “Badal and his family has looted the state and now they are trying to malign my image with fake allegations.”
Badals should talk to me faceto-face instead of issuing statements against me, he said. “I challenge Parkash Singh Badal for an open debate.If he does not have time I can even go to his village for it,” Sidhu said.
“Their sins cannot be washed overnight, so the Captain Amarinder Singh led government is working overnight to put the state’s economy back on track,” he said.He also lashed at the Badals on the Fastway and said that he has forwarded the proposal file to the chief minister.
“It will be approved in the next House meeting after getting clearance from legal branch, in the coming two weeks,” he said.
“We are not going to leave the Fastway. Direct to home (DTH) services are paying 10% tax but Fastway paid a negligible amount under Badal regime. Tax will be imposed on them. It will help us to reach their unreported cable connection network,” he said.
Responding to Bikram Majithia’s remark during Jabar Virodhi Lehar in Batala, Sidhu said that Sukhbir Badal’s brother-in-law Majithia is suffering from ‘oral diarrhoea’ and cannot refrain from uttering nonsense.
Meanwhile, lauding the role of environmentalist Sant Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal for water conservation and tree plantation, he said his efforts need to be replicated for making 65 state sewage treatment plants functional effectively.
“Akalis wasted more than ₹600 crore in the name of STPs whereas Baba Seechewal performed this miracle with merely ₹12 lakh,” he said.
‘MC WARD SEATS WILL BE INCREASED’
The local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the state government has decided to increase the wards in four municipal corporations (MCs) in Punjab.He said, “The state government will increase the seats in keeping with the rising population in the major cities.”
“The number of wards in MC Patiala has been raised to 60 from existing 50, in Amritsar MC 85 from existing 65, Ludhiana MC to 90 from existing 70 and MC Jalandhar MC to 75 from existing 60,” said Sidhu.
He said that the final notification regarding the matter will be issued within this month.
The minister said, “The state government is chalking out a road map for development of the state. Once things are finalised, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will announce the master plan.”
He said that the focus of the state government was to tackle issues like solid waste management, sewage treatment plants and providing civic amenities to the people. He said unlike the previous SAD-BJP government, the Capt government will make judicious use of every single penny of the tax payer’s money.