Punjab govt flays Badal over his beacon remarks
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Thursday termed former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's reported statement on red beacons as "mere tokenism" and asked him to take up meaningful issues instead of indulging in frivolous opposition.
Dubbing Badal's remarks as "symptomatic of the antipeople culture in the party (SAD)", an official spokesperson said that if he was finding it difficult to connect the elimination of VIP culture with public welfare then it clearly showed the extent to which the Akalis were alienated from the people of Punjab, which had translated into the party's poor show in the recent Assembly polls.
On Wednesday, a section of media quoted Badal as saying that there would be no impact on removing red beacons from vehicles of the VIPS on commoners in Punjab.
As the state's former chief minister, Badal should constructively work with the government in the interest of the people of the state and not indulge in expressing opposition for the sake of it, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson urged Badal to graciously accept that times had changed and there was no place for VIP culture in the modern world. CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu should be allowed to do the television show, if that is his main source of income.
He personally felt Sidhu should be allowed to make his living by continuing to earn through the TV show, if that was his main source of income, an official release quoting the Chief Minister said here.
"How does one live without adequate income?" he asked, adding "do they (those opposing Sidhu's appearance on the TV show) want to make min- isters corrupt (by stopping them from earning their livelihood)?" As he did not know the legal issues in the matter, Amarinder said he would wait for the Punjab Advocate General's opinion, the release said.
The Chief Minister said he did not personally think there was any conflict of interest, as stated by the Attorney General of India, it said.
Amarinder had earlier said he had no objection on Sidhu continuing to appear on television, but would change his portfolio of culture minister if it was in conflict with his show.