PATIALA – PPCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh attacked Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju for calling Punjab a disturbed state. He alleged instead of calling the state a disturbed area, the Centre should fulfil its responsibility of checking infiltration from across the international border.
“The minister made a highly irresponsible statement as it conveyed a wrong message. Rijiju doesn’t seem to be aware of the ground reality in the state,” he said.
On Sunday, Kiren said there was no need to revoke the disturbed area status for the state, given the threat posed by external forces. “Rijiju should have done his homework, before making such a statement that can have far-reaching consequences. No town or village in the state is disturbed. In fact, the minister should work efficiently to stop Pakistanis from infiltrating into the state,” he said.
After addressing a meeting of the MGNREGA workers today, Amarinder expressed surprise over the silence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on the issue.
“The government must lodge a strong protest against such a statement as it reflects badly on the state,” he said. He further said when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said that youth in the state were falling prey to drugs, which was a fact, they (the Akalis) resorted to breast-beating. And now when their own minister said the state was disturbed, they have gone mute, he said.
At the meeting, Amarinder said the state was one of the worst performers in MGNREGA and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should get the blame for it. He alleged the Badals might have misappropriated funds for the scheme that are provided by the Centre.
