Knowledge-sharing agreement 'instrument of surrender': Punjab Congress
Chandigarh/Ludhiana, April 26
Punjab Congress Committee (PCC) president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring today lashed out at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his abject surrender to his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal in the name of “knowledge-sharing agreement”. “This is not any agreement, but simply an instrument of surrender”, Warring remarked in a statement here today.
The PCC president questioned the very logic behind such an agreement between the Chief Minister of a full-fledged state and that of a “semi-state”, like Delhi, smaller in size than the smallest district in Punjab, whose functions are limited mainly to local governance.
Warring said, normally agreements between the governments of two states are signed between the particular departments and carry the signatures of the respective departmental heads, who are senior IAS officers and not at the level of the Chief Minister.
“The vague and ambiguous description in the agreement makes Kejriwal’s intentions obvious. This makes it obvious that Mann has surrendered his authority to Kejriwal in meek and abject subservience, which people of Punjab will neither accept nor forgive,” he warned.
In Ludhiana, Congress Legislature Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa termed the agreement signed between the Delhi and Punjab Governments as a big betrayal with the people of the state. He accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of playing the role of a public relation representative of the Delhi Government.
Urging people to be cautious of AAP, Bajwa said: “We had earlier also said Kejriwal wanted a proxy rule in Punjab. Last time he himself wanted to come to Punjab but people stopped him in between but this time he had come through proxy.
Kejri interfering
The motive behind such a pact thrust on Mann by Kejriwal is not lost on anyone. Kejriwal is trying to legitimise his extra-constitutional authority over Punjab. — Raja Warring, PCC chief
It’s a big betrayal
It’s a big betrayal with the people of the state… majority of powers are being given to the Chief Minister of Delhi. It seems to be an agreement to give Punjab on lease or surrender. — Partap Bajwa, CLP leader
