Manav Mander
Ludhiana, February 5
The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, who was in the city today, said, “Looking at the present circumstances of Punjab, the state needs a stable government and neither Navjot Singh Sidhu nor Charanjit Singh Channi are capable of providing the same.”
“Channi has zero experience in running the state administration. Sidhu has no stand on international affairs,” he said.
“Punjab has suffered huge losses during pandemic. We will bring a white paper in Punjab to make an assessment of losses in the state. It is sad that the land and mining mafia is backed by the Punjab Government,” he added.
“At present, Punjab has huge amount of pending loan. Industry is shifting to other states. The ground water level is decreasing and if things continued the same way, the state will soon turn into a desert,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of re-alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, Puri said it is out of question. “We were junior partners in the alliance. It was like a bad marriage. Even if they come to us, there is no question of alliance with the SAD,” he added. “The Congress has failed to take drugs out of the state as the government itself is involved in the trade,” he said.
When asked about the CM face, if the BJP comes to power in state, Puri said they would discuss it with Capt Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and decide. The BJP national general secretary, Dushyant Kumar Gautam, also accompanied Puri.
Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.