Punjab CM funding Arvind Kejriwal’s air travel from state exchequer, alleges SAD
Chandigarh, October 19 : The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to tell Punjabis why he was spending crores of rupees from the State exchequer to fund the air travel of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal and why the State government had taken a decision to hire a fixed wing aircraft when it already had a helicopter at its disposal.
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In a statement here, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said it was shocking that the Punjab government was ready to waste crores of rupees simply to facilitate AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal and his entourage. He said a fixed wing aircraft was not needed for travel in Punjab because it had a small geographical area and that it would be used for travel outside Punjab to facilitate Kejriwal’s visits to other States for electioneering. “Presently also the Punjab government hired private jets twice at the cost of Rs 44 lakh and Rs 55 lakh respectively for each trip to facilitate Kejriwal’s electioneering trips to Gujarat. It seems the AAP Convener wants to criss-cross the country and Bhagwant Mann has stepped forward to foot the bill on behalf of Punjabis”.
Asking the chief minister to withdraw his decision to hire a ten seater Dassualt Falcon 2000 fixed wing aircraft for a one year period, Dr Cheema said “this wasteful expenditure cannot be countenanced keeping in view the fact that farmers have not been compensated for crop damage, the under privileged sections are not getting social benefits and youth are being denied jobs. Moreover the AAP government had already spent a staggering amount running into crores of rupees on travel by the State helicopter. Hiring the services of a fixed wing aircraft will further increase this burden”.
Asserting that AAP was showing its true colours, Dr Cheema said “this is the same party whose boss made a virtue of travelling by his Wagon-R vehicle only. The Punjab chief minister is fond of regaling Punjabis with tales of his simplicity. However it is the same people who are now hiring private jets and heli-hopping from one place to another unmindful of the expenditure they are putting on the State exchequer”.
Dr Cheema also castigated the AAP government for hiding the expense incurred on air travel of the chief minister on the State helicopter as well as private chartered flights on the pretext of security concerns. “This information has never been withheld earlier and the fact that the AAP government is withholding it now makes it clear that they are misusing this facility”. The SAD leader also condemned the chief minister for using the State helicopter to campaign for the AAP party in Himachal Pradesh.
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-PTC News
