Bathinda: Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu has directed civil and police officials to prevent any form of rigging by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members during the May 26 municipal body elections in Punjab. He warned that any such incident would be personally reported to the Union Home Ministry.
Bittu's Warning to Officials
Addressing officials on Saturday, Bittu urged them not to follow any 'illegal orders' from the ruling party. He stated that he would be present in Bathinda on polling day to monitor any attempts at rigging. 'A powerful business family is eyeing to wrest power in Bathinda Municipal Corporation. They have not even listened to minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Bathinda Urban MLA Jagroop Singh Gill in allotting party tickets. It is due to this attitude of the business family that neither Khudian nor the MLA campaigned for the party in Bathinda,' he added.
Previous Tiff Over Ticket Denial
Earlier, Khudian reportedly had a disagreement with Punjab AAP in-charge Manish Sisodia over the denial of a party ticket to one of his known associates for the Bathinda Municipal Corporation elections.
Criticism of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann
Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over his visit to Gurugram to meet incarcerated Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora, Bittu said, 'Bhagwant Mann and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal did not go to meet Arora out of sympathy, but they went to ask the minister where he had put up all the money.' Bittu based his allegations on a statement by AAP-turned-BJP Rajya Sabha member Harbhajan Singh, who accused the AAP leadership of selling Rajya Sabha seats and putting ministries on sale. Bittu remarked that the world-class cricketer who earned the status of 'Turbanator' has now become a 'Gadaar' (traitor) for them, as AAP has been bowled over by the 'Googli' and wickets will now be thrown away.
Attack on AAP's Drug Census
Bittu also slammed the AAP government for conducting a drug census, calling it shameful that AAP wants to defame Punjabis by branding them as addicts. 'Why does this government want to defame Punjabis? If it is really serious, it could get details for rehabilitation of those under addiction. But AAP has a hidden agenda of collecting data to use it politically and selling the data, as data is a big power during the prevailing times when big nations need data,' he said.
Financial Emergency Allegations
Bittu further accused the AAP government of pushing the state towards a financial emergency by raising loans and using the money for self-promotion.
Response to Cockroach Janta Party
When asked about the Cockroach Janta Party page receiving a huge response, Bittu said, 'We know who are behind this, and Indians will cleanse the atmosphere by making cockroaches fly away or die down.'
