Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday said Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is coming around to accept the ground reality of his hollow announcements.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said Channi has himself exposed the reality of his Cabinet’s announcement to regularise 36,000 temporary employees in the state.

“Today, the CM had to publicly tell the truth that 36,000 employees weren’t regularised. Whereas, we (AAP) are saying this since the day one that no employees are being regularised,” Cheema said adding AAP Punjab president Bhagwant Mann too had challenged Channi government to give names of any 36 employees that have been made permanent after the announcement.

Terming Channi as the weakest CM of Punjab, Cheema said judging Channi’s non-serious attitude, all the government officers are out of their (Punjab government and CM) control today and due to their civil war, leaders and ministers of Congress seems to be uncontrollable too.

Cheema said if the Chief Minister had completed the process of filing for regularisation with seriousness and clean intentions, then there wouldn’t have been any solid reason, on the part of the Governor, to not clear that file. He said today the CM gave a statement that Governor is not signing the file, and if he didn’t then Channi with his entire Cabinet would stage a dharna in front of Punjab Raj Bhawan (Governor’s residence).

Cheema questioned a government that is facing protests in every corner of the state, would they be able to solve the situation through a dharna. Advising Channi, Cheema said since the CM’s hollow announcements have been exposed now, so ethically, instead of staging a dharna in front of Raj Bhawan, Channi should resign.

“He (the CM) should himself bear the expense of all the advertisements, that he has issues about the ‘36,000 regular jobs’, because he has wasted a large amount of money from Punjab exchequer on it, and should apologise to the public for it all,” the AAP leader said. He said Channi’s claim of getting 100 jobs done in 100 days is deceptive just like his promise to regularise 36,000 employees and every other announcement.