Punjab chief minister (CM) Amarinder Singh on Thursday made it clear that he would go in for a Cabinet expansion after the results for polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are declared on 18 December.
The CM also ruled out the possibility of appointment of a deputy CM, for which the Congress has no convention. The CM was addressing a press conference at the launch of the Congress vision document for the state’s urban development in Amritsar.
Flanked by Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and Local Bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amarinder rejected the suggestion that his government had failed to implement many of its poll promises, which could affect the Congress party’s performance in the Municipal Corporations (MCs) elections.
“It was not possible to implement all promises in eight months, especially given the financial crisis inherited from the erstwhile Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government,” he said, adding that the state is struggling to generate its own resources, including loans, to fulfill its responsibilities and meet its promises.
The CM said, process of farm loan waiver would begin after the elections and distribution of smart phones would also begin soon. “Unfortunately, all things are dependent on resources, which takes time to manage. The influx of industry would help boost the resource generation for the state,” he added, disclosing that his government had signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to the tune of Rs. 50,000 Crore since taking over in March this year.
On the Goods and Service Tax (GST) issue, CM said the problem was with its implementation, which had been done without the entire issue being properly thought through by the Central government. The CM disclosed that his government was mulling a change in the excise policy to make it more lucrative for the state.
The policies in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan were being examined, he added. Regarding the forthcoming MC elections in Punjab, the CM rejected outright the allegation of ‘parivarwaad’ (giving preference to a particular family) in ticket allocation, saying deserving legislators and other individuals were being chosen, based on the feedback received, by the committee set up for this purpose.
Asked about the Congress prospects in the Gujarat elections, Amarinder said his information, received from senior party colleagues, was that it was going neck-and-neck at the moment, with a strong possibility of silent voters swinging the mood.
The CM said his government was working closely with central agencies to crack down on such elements, working at the behest of the Pakistani agency ISI. ISI was working via various other countries, including Canada, US, UK and Germany, he said, adding that the recent arrests had proved this.
Asked about gangsters operating from prisons to facilitate the radical groups, he said all steps were being taken to block communication, including replacement of 2G jammers with 4G jammers.