Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, People’s Party of Punjab president Manpreet Singh Badal today said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was cold-shouldered by BJP leaders during the swearing-in of Manohar Lal Khattar as Haryana Chief Minister. He said this indicated that the BJP had yet to come to terms with SAD’s support to the INLD during the Assembly elections.
In a statement, he said although Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders shook hands with the Chief Minister, the warmth seemed to be missing. He said the BJP had felt cheated by Badal’s decision to support the INLD because of family ties with Om Prakash Chautala.
Manpreet said earlier the SAD’s demand for a special financial package for the state was rejected by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. This showed that all was not well between the alliance partners and that the SAD had been misleading the people on the issue. Manpreet warned that the state’s economy would be in a mess if Punjab was not given any package.
Manpreet questioned the logic given by the Chief Minister on not asking Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Avinash Chander to quit despite his name cropping up during investigations into a case related to drug smuggling and money-laundering.
He said the CPS must not be allowed to continue in office. He said earlier Sarwan Singh Phillaur had to resign from the Cabinet for similar reasons.
