Ludhiana: Rejecting Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal`s charges that he was impeding development works, Union Minister and Ludhiana MP today said it was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
"Does this mean that your government has lost all the authority and is feeling so helpless in front of an MP, who according to you is impeding all the development works in this city governed by you?" Tewari asked, adding "if it so then you should better quit than plead helplessness in front of an MP".
In a statement here, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting asked Sukhbir to point out one single central project which has not been completed or is not in the process of completion. "Let me reiterate that the delay, if any, is absolutely because of the non-cooperative and indifferent attitude of the state (SAD-BJP) government," he said.
"We have the recent example where the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation sat over Rs 2 crore meant for digging tubewells for drinking water in the city," he added.
He said, "It was the central government which provided one time Rs 100 crore grant for the financially ailing Punjab Agricultural University, Rs 60 crore for the cleaning of the Budha Nullah which the state government misappropriated and is yet to furnish the account, the resumption of daily flights between Ludhiana and Delhi for which Sukhbir tried to steal the credit, starting of the Ludhiana Shatabadi, and setting up of the passport office."
"I have listed some of the projects I brought and executed in the city, now you list yours during the past seven years," Tewari said to Sukhbir, while drawing attention towards the "irresponsible and insensitive profligacy of the state government when it did not have money even to pay salaries and pensions".
Tewari said, "While 20 lakh pensioners are awaiting pensions in the state the Deputy CM goes shopping to buy one helicopter and one aeroplane for his personal use from the state funds worth about Rs 110 crore."
"If the city`s roads are having the local transport it is not because of the state government, but because of the funds provided by the central government under JNNURM and if the rural roads are metalled and vehicles are running smoothly on those it is again with the central funds," he said, asking Sukhbir to introspect before levelling baseless charges which will only boomerang on him.
