Delhi DyCM, others jailed in excise policy case, turn of 'kingpin' will also come: Anurag Thakur
Raipur (PTI): Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said the deputy chief minister of Delhi and others have landed up in jail in connection with an excise policy case and the turn of its "kingpin", who is still out, will also come.
Talking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda airport in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, Thakur targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that those who were elected to power by raising the slogan of "India against corruption" have now been found steeped in corruption.
The Union youth affairs and sports minister arrived here to attend a couple of events.
AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was on Wednesday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case.
Asked about Kejriwal's allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Singh's arrest, Thakur said, "People are laughing at Arvind Kejriwal ji and tension can be seen on his face. They are those people who came by raising the slogan of 'India against corruption' and are now found steeped in corruption".
In Punjab, it (AAP) got elected to power and within two months, the state health minister had to resign due to corruption, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
"Kejriwal ji has no answer to the liquor scam that has brought shame to him. So far, the deputy chief minister (of Delhi) and others have gone to jail, but the kingpin is still out. The probe is underway and the turn of the kingpin will also come," Thakur said.
The persons to whom Kejriwal had distributed "certificates of honesty" are in jail since the last one year. Who gave him the right to distribute the certificates? he said.
"Agli kiski baari hai, ye media ke headline banne ki tayyari hai (whose turn is next is going to be the media's headline)," he added.
Thakur also targeted the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, where the assembly elections are due later this year.
"Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are the two states where officers close to the chief minister faced serious allegations of corruption and crores of rupees and gold were recovered from them. They (CM) should have been resigned. But they haven't stepped down yet. Now people will oust them (in the upcoming assembly elections)," he said.
Asked about the caste survey done by the Bihar government, Thakur mentioned that PM Modi has said his government is for the poor, down- trodden and those exploited.
"The biggest community is of the poor and we have to bring them out of poverty. In the last nine years of Modi ji's government, 18.5 crore people in the country have been pulled out of below poverty line," he said.
Statistics show how much works have been done for welfare of the poor in the country. When the Congress and its allies did not have an answer to it, they resorted to the caste issue, he claimed.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
