Chandigarh, November 14
Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government for allegedly squandering Punjab’s scarce financial resources on self-promotional campaigns aimed at projecting the Chief Minister as ‘Lokan Da CM’ and ‘Imaandar CM’.
Questioning the need for such taxpayer-funded publicity, Bajwa said it was absurd for a democratically elected Chief Minister to spend public money convincing people that he belongs to them. “In a democracy, the people elect their Chief Minister. The mandate itself establishes that he is the Chief Minister of the people. Why, then, is the AAP government spending crores of rupees from an already financially distressed state exchequer to establish the obvious? Punjab needs every rupee for public welfare, not for glorifying its Chief Minister,” Bajwa said.
Taking particular exception to the ‘Imaandar CM’ campaign, Bajwa questioned the moral authority of Bhagwant Mann to project an image of probity while serious allegations surround his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajbir Singh Ghuman, who is under investigation in a corruption case being probed by the CBI.
“How can Bhagwant Mann claim the moral high ground and advertise himself as an ‘Imaandar CM’ when his own OSD is under the scanner of the CBI in a corruption case? Before spending public money to advertise his honesty, the Chief Minister must answer questions about accountability within his own establishment,” Bajwa asserted.
Bajwa further pointed out that the CBI had recently informed the Supreme Court that the Punjab government was allegedly obstructing its investigation involving Ghuman. The agency reportedly told the court that certain state officials and the accused were not complying with its earlier directions to cooperate with the probe.
Bajwa said these developments raised serious questions about the AAP government’s commitment to transparency and the independence of investigative proceedings. He also alleged that several AAP leaders and legislators had come under the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). “The irony is that a government which has repeatedly marketed itself as the embodiment of honesty is now spending public money to convince people of its own integrity. Governance demands transparency, accountability and clean conduct. These qualities are demonstrated through actions, not manufactured through advertisements, billboards and political slogans,” he said.
In a pointed dig at the party’s political branding, Bajwa remarked that AAP’s much-touted identity of ‘Kattar Imaandar’ appeared to have undergone a quiet downgrade to simply ‘Imaandar’. “From ‘Kattar Imaandar’ to ‘Imaandar’—even AAP seems to have lowered its own claims. But no amount of rebranding can substitute for accountability,” he remarked.
Bajwa said Punjab was passing through a period of severe financial stress and could ill afford to have public funds diverted towards personality-centric publicity. The state needed financial prudence, responsible governance, institutional accountability and delivery on promises, not an expensive image-building exercise for the Chief Minister. “Punjab does not need an advertised ‘Imaandar CM’. It needs a government that demonstrates honesty through its conduct and delivers results through its governance,” Bajwa concluded.
