Will not let CM Mann canvass in Adampur, says MLA Kotli

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, May 21

Saying that he was still feeling hurt over the alleged “anti-Dalit” remarks of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann made in the Vidhan Sabha, Adampur legislator Sukhwinder Kotli has said that he would not let his roadshow enter his Assembly segment tomorrow.

“He will get the same reception in Adampur,” Kotli warned the CM today. CM Mann is slated to hold roadshows in Phillaur, Nakodar, Jalandhar Cantonment and Adampur Assembly segments of Jalandhar tomorrow.

After Kotli’s statement, the Jalandhar Rural Police and intelligence teams are likely to beef up security in the area tomorrow ahead of the event to avoid any untoward incident.

Since AAP candidate Pawan Tinu is ex-MLA from Adampur, he too is making all-out efforts to ensure good arrangement for the roadshow in the segment. Though Tinu continues to maintain a good hold in the segment even now, there are some Akali leaders in the area who are annoyed with him for quitting the party for his personal gains.

MLA Kotli has questioned Mann on his unfulfilled promise of appointing a Dalit as the Deputy CM, over which he had reportedly got humiliating repply. He also questioned him over Punjab SC Commission’s membership getting reduced from 10 to five, and their tenure shortened from six years to three years.

On Shagun Scheme, the MLA hit the AAP government saying that the Congress provided Rs 31,000, while the AAP government promised Rs 51,000 but it was yet to deliver. Similarly, he sought answers about the promised Rs 2,500 pension for widows and the elderly, which remained unpaid. He also sought reply from the state government over pending Rs 16,000 crore Post-Matric Scholarship payments.

Channi is farmer saviour in ‘PM security issue’

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s slated visit to Jalandhar for BJP candidate Sushil Rinku on May 24, Kotli came in support of Congress candidate and former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi. “Channi is farmer saviour. PM Modi, who was going to Ferozepur in January 2022, wanted to go through the passage that the farmers had blocked. The PM wanted the farmers to face lathis and gunshots. As CM, Channi had then dared to get the PM’s cavalcade stopped on the flyover, barring him from going ahead,” said Kotli.