3 Punjab ministers 'discussing cruise trips' while inspecting floods draw opposition ire

Opposition parties in Punjab slammed the Bhagwant Mann government on Saturday, accusing it of failing to fulfil people's expectations, after three Cabinet ministers were purportedly heard in a video discussing their cruise trips while inspecting the flood situation in Tarn Taran.

The clip shared on X by BJP leader Tarun Chugh as well as Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa, showed ministers Harbhajan Singh, Barinder Kumar Goyal and Laljit Singh Bhullar discussing cruise trips in Sweden and Goa while sitting in a boat with life jackets on.

In the video, Harbhajan Singh could be heard saying, “I went on a cruise in Sweden. There was everything on the ship itself, hotel and all.” Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Goyal could be heard replying that it was the same in Goa.

The clip has been widely shared on social media as the people fought hard to cope with the flood crisis caused by swollen rivers and rivulets following heavy rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

State cabinet ministers are visiting the flood-hit areas in Punjab to take stock of rescue and relief operations, while 7,689 people have been shifted to safety.

Hitting out at the AAP ministers, Chugh said, "Punjab has drowned, fields have been destroyed, houses damaged, and families are on the streets. But even in these conditions, the ministers are talking about a Sweden-Goa cruise while sitting in a boat instead of sharing the pain of flood victims."

"The public is asking, did Punjab give you power so that you can recount stories of luxury at the time of crisis? Or so that you can reduce our troubles?" the BJP leaders asked while alleging the AAP government has failed to live up to people's expectations.

"The leaders who talk about luxury in times of disaster are actually the biggest culprits of the destruction of Punjab," he alleged.

Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa also lashed out at the three ministers in an X post.

"Flood-hit families in Punjab beg for a glass of drinking water, but AAP Punjab's Ministers Barinder Goyal, Laljit Bhullar and Harbhajan Singh found time to relive their 'golden memories' of luxury cruises in Sweden and Goa. What a relief tour!" he said.

Many districts in Punjab are under the grip of massive floods, while multiple agencies have joined hands to provide succour to a large number of affected people in the flood-hit areas.