Kejriwal telling lies, trying to mislead people: Sidhu

Chandigarh, December 2

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his poll promises, accusing him of telling lies and trying to mislead people of the state. 

He targeted Kejriwal on a day when the AAP convener was on a one-day visit to Pathankot in Punjab, which will go to polls early next year. 

Referring to the AAP’s promise of giving Rs 1,000 per month to women above 18 if it comes to power in Punjab, Sidhu asked whether he considered “daughters, sisters and mothers as beggars” and questioned whether he gave the amount to women in Delhi.

He again asked the Delhi CM if there is any woman in his Cabinet.

Addressing a rally at Qadian in Gurdaspur district, the adjoining district of Pathankot where Kejriwal held a “Tiranga Yatra”, he said giving Rs 1,000 to women and free power of up to 2 KW load requires Rs 12,000 crore and Rs 3,600 crore, respectively.

It works out at over Rs 1 lakh crore, he said while pointing towards Punjab’s total budget of Rs 72,000 crore and of which, Rs 70,000 crore goes into paying salaries and repaying debt.

“From where will you get funds? You tell a lie and try to mislead people,” he said.

Targeting the AAP government over poor air quality in Delhi, he said in the national capital, the number of CNG buses dropped to 3,000 now from 6,000 at the time of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

The bus passengers also dropped to 25 lakh from 45 lakh, he claimed.

The green cover which stood at 22 per cent at the time of the Dikshit government could not be further enhanced by even one per cent by Kejriwal, he said. 

Sidhu asked the AAP leader whether he came to Punjab in the past four-and-a-half years.

Sidhu said Kejriwal had promised 26 lakh jobs. 

“If 26 lakh jobs were to be given, it would require Rs 93,000 crore,” he said. —PTI