Sand mafia should stay away from him : CM Charanjit Singh Channi
CHANDIGRAGH/ NEW DELHI: New Chief Minister of Punjab, Charanjit Channi on Monday targeted former CM Captain Amarinder Singh and the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party in his first press conference after the oath taking ceremony. |
Channi targeted Amarinder Singh over the sand mafia issue and said that the sand mafia and people associated with them should stay away from him, as he is not ready to meet them. Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu has also been targeting the Captain for his complicity with the sand mafia. Channi said a big decision will be taken in the cabinet meeting today.
Targeting Aam Aadmi Party, Channi said that Punjab will now have a common man’s government. He said that the water connection of any poor man of Punjab who does not pay his drinking water bill will not be cut. He said that the bills of the last five years of the poor who did not pay their water bills till August would be waived. He announced that sewerage and water bills for 200 square yard houses will not be charged in cities.
After Channi took charge as Punjab CM, the principal secretary and special principal secretary to ex-CM Captain Amarinder were replaced by Hussan Lal, Principal Secretary, Investment Promotion and Rahul Tiwari, Secretary of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, respectively.
Getting emotional at the press conference, Channi said that he comes from a poor family that did not have a roof over their head. He said, ‘Today a man has got a chance to become the chief minister, so this poor man is standing with every common man’.
Punjab CM Channi said during his press conference on Monday, “The party is supreme, not the CM and other ministers. We will move as per Congress ideology and work for the integrity of the country.” He also said he will visit all parts of Punjab and instruct bureaucrats to meet the people. “The poor will have access to the offices and secretariat,” he stated.
He said that the 18-point agenda given by the party high command would be fulfilled soon. Bargadi sacrilege case will be resolved soon. There will be no police excess on anyone, everyone will get justice, the guilty will be in lock-up, he added. CM Channi called upon the striking employees to return to work and said that they should be given some time so that all the problems of the employees can be resolved. Channi, who claimed to stand with the farmers in protest against the three agriculture laws of the Centre, said that no harm will be allowed to the agriculture of Punjab, adding, “For this I am ready to slit my throat.”
Channi said that the 18-point agenda given by the party high command would be fulfilled soon. Bargadi sacrilege case will be resolved soon. There will be no police excess on anyone, everyone will get justice, the guilty will be in lock-up, he added.
CM Channi called upon the striking employees to return to work and said that they should be given some time so that all the problems of the employees can be resolved. Channi, who claimed to stand with the farmers in protest against the three agriculture laws of the Centre, said that no harm will be allowed to the agriculture of Punjab, adding, “For this I am ready to slit my throat.”
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) demanded the resignation of Charanjit Singh Channi, who on Monday took oath as the 16th chief minister of Punjab, over allegations of sexual harassment against him. Calling Channi’s appointment to be “shameful”, Sharma said the new chief minister needs to be held “accountable and should resign from the post.” “We do not want another woman to go through the same experience and endure the same harassment that the IAS officer would have faced,” the NCW chief Rekha Sharma added.
The IAS officer accused Channi of sending inappropriate texts to her, but no formal complaint was registered and the issue was resolved following intervention by the former chief minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh. However, the case was reopened in June this year after Punjab Women Commission chairperson Manisha Gulati sought a reply from the Punjab government. This move became an issue within the state Congress circles with ministers supporting Channi calling it a ‘witch hunt’ by the Captain camp.
(With Bureau Report)
