Salaria has an immoral track record: AAP’s Khaira
GURDASPUR: Leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Thursday accused SAD-BJP candidate Swaran Salaria of having “an immoral track record” and indulging in corrupt practices to run the Chintpurni Medical College in Pathankot, owned by Salaria.
Khaira was in Dinanagar to address a public meeting in support of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Major General Suresh Khajuria (retd) for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelections.
Taking a dig at Salaria, Khaira said in December 2014, Salaria was booked under rape charges at Vakola police station in Mumbai, following allegations by an air hostess. The case has now been closed. “Salaria may have silenced the aggrieved woman with his money power but the case has brought out a villainous character of the BJP candidate,” Khaira said.
The AAP leader also accused Salaria of “spoiling” careers of “hundreds of youth” from Gurdaspur at his Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital. “The future of students from this college is hanging fire since 2011 after the Medical Council of India (MCI) refused to allow its operations, citing anomalies in its functioning.”
He added that despite the MCI’s observation, Salaria continued to admit students in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Punjab and Haryana high court has recently ordered that these students should be shifted to other medical colleges in the state, Khaira said.
“With this, Salaria has not only embezzled crores from the students by offering them medical seats, but has also indulged in corrupt practices by cheating his own electorate,” he said.
Challenging Salaria for an open debate with Khajuria, Khaira said its difficult to understand how the people of Gurdaspur can trust a man with such “nefarious track record”.
Speaking on the Centre’s taxation policy, Khaira said the BJP must be taught a lesson for “discriminating against” the state’s industry.
He said that, “at the cost of Punjab”, the Modi government has extended the industrial tax holiday by 10 years for hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
He claimed that more than 30,000 small and medium scale industrial units have either closed down or shifted out of Punjab because of the differential tax policies of successive central governments.
Meanwhile, he also took a dig at Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar and said after being rejected from Abohar assembly seat and Ferozpur Lok Sabha seat, he is aiming at his “political rehabilitation” through the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection.