BJP slams Amarinder govt.’s decision to buy 400 Luxury Vehicles, terms it anti-poor

Chandigarh, October 24, 2018: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed Capt Amarinder-led Congress government for its decision to buy 400 Luxury Vehicles at the cost of Rs.80-crore. Terming the decision as anti-poor, Tarun Chugh, the national secretary of the party said that Amarinder and his finance minister Manpreet Badal’s decision is contradictory to their claims that the state does not have enough funds even for the welfare schemes uch as Atta-Dal Scheme, Shagun Scheme, Old Age Pension and Widow Pension etc. He said while the poorest of the poor were waiting for basic requirements due to lack of funds the Chief Minister has approved Land Cruisers and Fortuners for himself, his ministers, army of OSDs and bureaucrats. Chugh said the Congress government which has not honoured its promises of waiving of 90,000-crore farm loan, creating and providing employment for 70 lakh youth under its ‘Ghar Ghar Naukri’ Scheme, Mobiles for youth and Sugar, Tea and Ghee in addition to Atta and Dal was all set to spend Rs.80-crore on Luxury Vehicles. “This is a government which had promised to waive off farm loan but more than 550 farmers have been compelled to commit suicide due to its failure to honour the promise. Teachers are on warpath because their salary has been reduced from Rs.42,000 a month to Rs.14,000 a month. Amarinder government is giving more salaries and perks to OSDs as compared to salaries given to ministers,” the BJP leader said adding that the decision seems to have emerged out of feudal mindset of the Chief Minister. Chugh alleged that the government which was not able to send funds to the Corporations, Municipal Committees and Councils, Nagar Panchayats, Zila Parishads and Gram Panchayats for development in their respective jurisdictions was taking such anti-democratic and anti-people decisions. Chugh reminded the Chief Minister that the Congress government in the state was not in a position to pay salaries timely to the staff of various departments and numerous development projects had not been completed because of scarcity of funds. “Councillors have been complaining of not receiving funds for development in their wards,” he said. The BJP leader warned Capt Amarinder that spending on luxury vehicles for his appointees may backfire as people were annoyed with the government because it has not honoured promises made to people of the state even after passage of more than one and a half year.