Congress MLA Bajwa accuses Punjab govt of 'selling-off of state's assets'

Chandigarh, Sep 20 (IANS) The Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Saturday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party government, accusing it of orchestrating a systematic “sell-off of state’s assets to mask its catastrophic financial mismanagement”.

Bajwa lambasted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, and AAP national Convener Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that the “trio is steering Punjab towards economic collapse while trying to auction off five prime government-owned properties spread over 111 acres”, a move he termed as a “last-ditch effort to survive politically by selling off Punjab’s future.

“This government has reduced Punjab to a bankrupt, mismanaged wreck. What we are seeing is not governance, but daylight robbery -- looting public property to cover up their own blunders,” Bajwa said.

The properties shortlisted by the high-powered committee on Optimum Use of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) include Printing Press Colony (eight acres) in Patiala, Printing Press Site (10 acres) in Patiala, Veterinary Hospital Land (2.27 acres) in Barewal Awana in Ludhiana, sugar mill (89 acres) in Sheron in Tarn Taran, and PWD Guest House (1.75 acres) in Gurdaspur.

According to Bajwa, these lands are not just valuable assets but also hold potential for public use and long-term state development -- now being “auctioned off like scrap to plug holes in AAP’s financial misadventures”.

Taking dig at Kejriwal, Congress leader Bajwa said the AAP chief’s self-proclaimed financial expertise, rooted in his former role as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, has proven to be a “complete farce”.

“Kejriwal promised to raise Rs 34,000 crore annually by curbing corruption and Rs 20,000 crore from mining. Where is that money? All we see is smoke, mirrors, and now -- fire sales of Punjab’s assets,” Bajwa said. He warned that people are neither blind nor naive.

“The people of Punjab have seen through AAP’s web of lies, deceit, and reckless governance. They will give AAP a crushing electoral rebuke -- one that they will not recover from,” he added.

--IANS

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