Reach CM before you go to media: Mohindra to Bajwa
CHANDIGARH:Punjab local bodies and parliamentary affairs minister Brahm Mohindra on Friday took a dig at Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa for going public on the issues “the MP should ideally have raised at the party or the government forum”.
In a statement issued here, Mohindra said, “It is good that you (Bajwa) have been flagging issues of public interest, but the letters addressed to the CM should ideally reach Capt Amarinder directly and not through the media.”
In the recent months, Bajwa has been taking on the chief minister and the state government on a number of issues by writing letters and issuing them to the media. On Tuesday as well, the Congress MP, along with three party MLAs, wrote an open letter to the chief minister seeking immediate release of the pending sugarcane arrears.
“This does not convey the right message. A letter addressed to the CM should reach him and not the media. By releasing the letters to the media before dispatching it to the chief minister makes the motive and purpose of such letters obvious that the public concern (raised in these letters) is the last thing in the mind of the person,” said Mohindra.
The minister suggested to Bajwa that he should act as the spokesperson of the Punjab government and highlight the achievements of the state in fighting the Covid-19.
“Punjab has the highest recovery rate of about 90% while the death rate is less than 2%. This was despite huge influx of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and infected pilgrims all of whom were properly treated and most have recovered,” said Mohindra, who is the number two in the cabinet in seniority after the chief minister.
“Bajwa as a loyal Congressman has every right to raise issues of public interest, but there is a proper way of doing things,” said the minister.