Kejriwal turned Punjab into ‘ATM of corruption’, Amit Shah (2024)

Ludhiana

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that Delhi chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has turned Punjab into an “ATM of corruption” and that he has been relying on it to pay the legal fees to fight his court cases.

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Addressing a rally at Ludhiana’s grain market in support of the BJP’s Ludhiana candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu, he slammed the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying they hug each other elsewhere but turn into enemies in Punjab.

“I want to ask the AAP and Congress that you have an alliance in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat, then why you are playing ‘noora kushti’ (fixed match) here,” Shah said.

Shah appealed people to vote for Bittu and help BJP achieve the 400+ figure. Shah also promised that he will make Bittu “bada aadmi”, hinting that if the BJP forms government at the Centre, Bittu will a key post.

Shah added that after June 1, Kejriwal will go back to jail and after June 6, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will go to Bangkok.

Targeting Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Shah said that running a government is not his cup of tea. “Maskari se sarkar nahi chalti’ (running a government is not a joke). “In the past two years you (Mann) have put a burden ₹50,000 crore on Punjab and delivered nothing. You promised women ₹1,000 per month before assembly election, but did not pay a single penny in the past two years,” said Shah.

“Kejriwal and Mann are running a ‘jhola chhap’ government in Punjab. The Centre is sending free ration to the people and to hijack the Central scheme, Mann is putting ration in ‘jhola’ (bag) with a picture of Arvind Kejriwal on it. If you are so concerned, you should add two more kilograms of grain in it with the money you have spent on the bags,” he added.

Targeting the Punjab government, Shah alleged the state has been turned into a “den of corruption” and urged Mann to “stop this corruption” since the people of Punjab are “fed up” with it.

Training guns at Kejriwal, Shah said: “The Delhi CM has to fight his case and needs to pay (legal) fees. He gets it from ‘Punjab ATM’. Kejriwal has turned Punjab into an ATM of corruption. He has to fight elections, he puts the ‘Mann credit card’ in ATM and takes money to Delhi.”

Raising concern over drug menace in Punjab, the Union minister said soon an office of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will be established in that state paving the way to make it drug-free in five years.

Targeting the Congress, Shah said the grand old party always betrayed Punjab be it in 1947 (Partition) of 1984 (Operation Bluestar and anti-Sikh riots). The Congress always promoted extremism, communism and terrorism.

Shah further said that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India and no one can stop India to acquire it.

The Union minister also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for opening the Kartarpur Corridor and bringing welfare schemes for the people of Punjab.

AAP hits back at Shah

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back at Shah, stating that no BJP leader has the moral right to speak on corruption.

AAP leader and Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that the BJP government committed the biggest scam in the country through electoral bonds. “It collected thousands of crores of rupees in party fund by making illegal money legal and used that money to topple opposition-ruled state governments,” he alleged in a statement. Cheema alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah used to call dozens of leaders corrupt and threatened to put them in jail, but instead of taking action against them, they included these people in their party and rewarded them with important posts like chief ministers and deputy chief ministers. “When they (BJP) will be out of power on June 4, then all their scams and wrong deeds will be exposed to the whole country,” he said.