CHANDIGARH
Opposition parties in Punjab on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for signing a knowledge-sharing agreement with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of “surrendering his authority” and “institutionalising interference” in the border state.A knowledge-sharing agreement was signed on Tuesday between the two chief ministers with Mann saying that 117 schools and mohalla clinics will be developed in Punjab.Reacting to the agreement, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa termed it “complete abrogation of responsibility” on behalf of the state government towards its people while SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said it was a “black day” for Punjab.Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring took a swipe at Mann and asked him to admit that Kejriwal would now run Punjab from Delhi.Bajwa in a tweet said, “The proposed agreement between @PunjabGovtIndia and Delhi Govt is akin to inviting the British to ‘safeguard’ the Maharajah as requested by the Lahore Durbar in 1846. It is a complete abrogation of responsibility on behalf of the Govt of Punjab to its people. Such an agreement will ensure that Punjab Govt is essentially a colony outpost of @ArvindKejriwal ji.””No transparency, no accountability and a complete selling off Punjab to Delhi in perpetuity,” alleged Bajwa in another tweet.Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira slammed Mann for allegedly surrendering his authority to Kejriwal.”Compromising PB (Punjab) Govt departments with Delhi Govt and making agreements amounts to abject & complete surrender of authority by @BhagwantMann before @ArvindKejriwal. How will PB defend its waters,language etc if we submit ourselves to another state!,” tweeted Khaira, who is an MLA from Bholath seat.Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal also expressed displeasure over the development, saying, “Black Day for Punjab: CM @BhagwantMann institutionalises Delhi Govt interference in Punjab by signing MoU today.”Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma too slammed Mann, saying it was not a memorandum of understanding but a “memorandum of surrender.”
