Mann is just 'mukhota', Punjab govt being run by AAP's 'rejected leaders': Delhi CM Gupta

Chandigarh: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday alleged that her Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann is just a "mukhota" (mask) as his government is being run by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, who have been "rejected" by people of the national capital.

She was speaking to reporters in Ludhiana while campaigning for BJP candidate Jiwan Gupta for the June 19 byelection to Ludhiana West seat.

Launching a scathing attack on the AAP-led Punjab government, Gupta said drug menace is rampant in the state.

The Delhi chief minister added that "Punjab has been converted into a Chitta Express" under the AAP's rule.

Gupta said the people of Ludhiana West will vote wisely and make the BJP candidate victorious.

She claimed that former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the AAP's national convener, had made "tall promises" to the people of Delhi as well as Punjab but now stood exposed.

"Those who ran away from Delhi after making tall promises are now sitting in Punjab... I want to ask them 'kya hua tera vaada' (what about your promises)," asked Gupta.

"Kejriwal should answer what happened to those promises. I will not ask Bhagwant Mann because he is only a "mukhota" (mask), the government here is being run by their leaders from Delhi who have been rejected by the people there," she said.

Gupta asked the AAP what is the fate of their promises to improve health infrastructure and schools.

"What about your promise to end drug problem in Punjab? What have you done for these years?...People have died due to consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab, what are you doing? With builder mafia, you are snatching land of poor farmers. In every street, outside every school "chitta" is sold. Punjab has been converted into a "Chitta Express"," she alleged.

Gupta accused Kejriwal of displaying "false Punjabiyat today".

"When you were in power in Delhi for a decade, not even one minister in Kejriwal's Cabinet was from the Sikh community. Did you not find them able? While in power in Delhi, you never did anything for the Sikhs," she said.

Gupta said the process of delivering justice to the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims truly began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

She also said that her government recently handed over job appointment letters to the families of 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.

In present BJP government in Delhi, you will see a minister from the Sikh community, from the Punjabi community, she added.

Escalating her attack, Gupta said Mann has been made powerless.

"The chief minister is seen only in the advertisements, what have you left him with. Entire administration in Punjab is being run by the rejected AAP leaders of Delhi. Be it (Manish) Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Bibhav Kumar, Raghav Chadha. Who among them is of Punjab origin? Who among these knows the problems of Punjab? They are only power hungry. They lost power in Delhi and quickly descended on Punjab," she claimed.

Gupta said the AAP had made promise to give Rs 1,000 per month to every woman in Punjab during the 2022 state assembly polls.

"Three-and-a-half years have passed, have they given a rupee. Kejriwal should answer. They had promised MSP to farmers. Did they give?" asked the chief minister.

"When the AAP came to power, they said they will end the VIP culture, they were here for change and not for power, they had said such things," said Gupta.

"But now entire previous Cabinet of Kejriwal is now sitting in Punjab. They are using Punjab's resources, for what, to enjoy the VIP culture. They are using the hard earned money of people," she alleged.

Gupta said after Kejriwal's party lost power in Delhi earlier this year and the BJP formed the government, the AAP supremo forgot the people of the national capital.

The AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora for the Ludhiana West bypoll.

Gupta said that Kejriwal by fielding Arora in the bypoll wants to clear his route to enter the Rajya Sabha.

The Ludhiana West assembly seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi earlier in January.

Further attacking the AAP, she said, "In Punjab, they are indulging in politics of corruption. The state is under debt of Rs 4 lakh debt due to the AAP's wrong policies and people have to bear the burnt."

"I have come to expose the tall promises they made in Delhi too. They said they will make Delhi like London and Paris. But they pushed the national capital backward during their rule. They did not carry even a single development work, only corruption, advertisements and publicity," she added.

Gupta said when the AAP was in power in Delhi, their schemes were such where nothing was spend on the ground, but ten times expenses were incurred in advertising those schemes.

"They talked about a liquid solution, which they claimed will check practice of stubble burning and to publicise it they spend Rs 80 crore...I want to ask the people of Punjab, did you get any liquid solution which they claimed was to check for stubble management," she added.

Gupta also cornered the former Kejriwal government in Delhi with regard to implementation of schemes.

On installing a smog tower in Delhi, they used Rs 24 crore on its publicity. Take any scheme, I have full details about what they did, she said.

"On publicising a mega shopping festival in Delhi, which never happened, they spend Rs 25 crore. This is Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. Don't come in their trap now," the chief minister said.

"People of Ludhiana are wise. They will reject the AAP and Ludhiana West will become trailer of 2027 (Punjab Assembly) polls. The BJP candidate will win from Ludhiana West," she added.