Madarihat by-election campaign heats up
As the Madarihat by-election approaches on 13 November, the stalled road over bridge (ROB) at a railway crossing in Birpara has emerged as a key campaign issue.
Two days after Punjab chief minister-elect Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal a mega roadshow in Amritsar on Sunday to celebrate the party’s landslide victory in the Assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit president Ashwani Sharma on Tuesday said AAP is blatantly misusing the taxpayer’s money by indulging in pomp and show.
The BJP leader said the roadshow organised by APP at the expense of the taxpayer’s money is most unfortunate and it has exposed itself.
“Kejriwal and Mann have no intention of being aam (common) but want to flaunt their new status,” he said.
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In a letter to the chief secretary, the Punjab BJP chief asked why the state exchequer was asked to release Rs Two Crore each to every deputy commissioner to facilitate the roadshow put up by the APP.
“It is believed that money was released to 23 deputy commissioners along with the deputy commissioner of Amritsar to marshal transport and ferry people for the roadshow. Punjab is debt ridden. We need a sobre and austere government which does not practice pomp and show and waste money” said Sharma.
He said the perception AAP projected of humility has been busted. “Bhagwant Mann is yet to take an oath and he is issuing orders and using state exchequer,” Sharma added.
The BJP leader said when Punjab is reeling under debt and is nearly bankrupt the AAP is busy floundering taxpayers’ money on pomp and show by taking out roadshows. He said the ‘road show’ was a political event as it was conducted by the AAP to show their strength at Amritsar and it was not an official event that required the allocation of the government funds or use of government machinery.
Sharma said the event was sponsored out of the government expenses causing huge loss to the public exchequer as well as great inconvenience and harassment to the state residents and taxpayers.
Demanding an inquiry over the misuse of government machinery and funds on the instance of AAP in their political ‘road show’, Sharma said the funds spent on the same should be recovered from their party fund.
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