Punjab BJP passes resolution against AAP govt's 'failure' in handling floods

Chandigarh, Sep 29 (PTI) The Punjab BJP on Monday held a "Janata ki Vidhan Sabha" - People's Assembly - over damage caused by the recent floods in the state, targeting the AAP government for having "failed" to take measures to manage it better.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed the BJP for the "mock session", saying that two of its MLAs did not attend the concluding day of the state assembly session.

"The elected members of BJP are not present in the real session and are taking part in fake Vidhan Sabha," said Mann in the House.

At the "Janata ki Vidhan Sabha", the BJP passed a resolution condemning the Aam Aadmi Party government of Punjab for its "failures before, during, and after the floods".

Another unanimous resolution demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged "embezzlement" of Rs 12,000 crore from the State Disaster Response Force funds by the Punjab government.

Additionally, resolutions were passed demanding an inquiry by a high court judge to identify "guilty ministers" and officers responsible for the floods, and to provide government jobs to families who lost their loved ones due to the floods.

Former speaker and BJP leader Charanjit Singh Atwal initiated the "Janata ki Vidhan Sabha" session.

The BJP said that Punjab BJP's working president and MLA Ashwani Sharma moved the resolution condemning the AAP government's failure in handling the floods.

Those who took part in it were BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, former state unit president Vijay Sampla, former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, former Union minister Som Parkash, former minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan, among others.

Ashwani Sharma said the flood damage in Punjab was less due to nature and more because of the Bhagwant Mann government.

"The floods in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, and Amritsar districts were entirely due to ministers and officers, for which the BJP has full evidence and facts. If the government had constituted a committee after the 2023 floods to investigate the causes, such devastation would not have occurred this year," he claimed.

If the water resources department had carried out works in 2023 at the 133 vulnerable sites identified on the Sutlej, Ghaggar, and Beas rivers, the water would not have entered the fields, he further said.

legal mining in Punjab's rivers is the biggest cause of floods, but the Punjab government has remained silent on this, he alleged.

When the prime minister visited Punjab to review the flood damage, the AAP government did not refrain from "playing politics", said Sharma.

The chief secretary reported a loss of about Rs 13,000 crore in the meeting, while a minister present claimed Rs 20,000 crore, showing that the government could not even present a single credible figure, he said.

"From the beginning of 2025 till September, what preparations were made to prevent floods? Were any drains cleaned? Was the district administration alerted in advance?" Chugh asked.

He said all these matters must now be investigated by the CBI so that the truth can come out. PTI CHS SKY SKY