Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday defending the 'remote control' allegation by the opposition parties said that it was his decision to send the officials for training purposes as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal took a meeting of Punjab officials in Delhi.
According to a NDTV report, "If needed, for training purposes, I will send my officers to Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and even Israel. Why should anyone object to that,"
The newly AAP government in Punjab came under fire from opposition parties on April 12, alleging it is being run through "remote control" from Delhi where Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with state's top bureaucrats in absence of the chief minister.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh called Bhagwant Mann a "rubber stamp" while Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu alleged it is a "breach of federalism." Congress Legislative Party leader in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa claimed that people of the state did not vote for the government which was to be "remote controlled" from Delhi.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also dubbed Kejriwal's meeting as "unconstitutional and unacceptable".
However, AAP Punjab leaders in a stiff reply to the opposition parties said that there was nothing wrong if the party's leaders took guidance from the Delhi chief minister who is also the national convenor of the AAP.
"Arvind Kejriwal is our party's national convenor. We take his guidance so there is nothing wrong in that," Punjab AAP Spokesperson Malwinder Kang said.
Kang also said "Punjab and many other states go to Delhi to understand Arvind Kejriwal's model of governance.
Notably, last month, the Aam Aadmi Party stormed into power in Punjab, winning 92 of 117 seats. The Congress had won only 18 seats.
(with agency inputs)
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