Bhagwant Mann should meet Modi for revision of relief package: Sunil Jakhar

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Friday said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek a revision of the relief package allocated to the state.

Jakhar, however, said before requesting time with the PM, Mann must first reconcile the Rs 12,000 crore State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) figure with Chief Secretary KAP Sinha.

“If they go with contradictory figures, they could even be shown the door,” Jakhar said, taking a jibe at the CM and the Chief Secretary.

The remarks come as the mystery over the money parked in the SDRF deepened, with the state’s AAP government rejecting the PM Modi’s statement that it had Rs 12,000 crore in it.

“In his first press conference since his discharge from hospital yesterday, CM Mann told mediapersons in Chandigarh Rs 1,582 crore had been released by the Centre for the SDRF. But when his Chief Secretary was asked to clarify, he mentioned that there were entries of Rs 12,000 crore,” Jakhar claimed.

“Entries in account straightaway confirm the amount lying with the state,” Jakhar said. He also criticised the AAP government for asking cash-rich panchayats to contribute 5 per cent of their reserves for the flood relief work.

Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu alleged that the AAP government “squandered Rs 12,000 crore on helicopter rides and personal luxuries” instead of flood relief.