Why is Punjab CM afraid of meeting Amit Shah, asks Bittu

Ludhiana, Sep 27 (PTI) Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Saturday targeted Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the issue of the Rs 12,000 crore disaster relief fund, alleging that he was avoiding accountability by blaming the Centre.

He said instead of addressing the matter directly, Mann was "misleading" people by claiming that he was seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi but was not being given time.

"When the floods hit Punjab, the Union Home Minister had immediately constituted special teams to assess the losses. These teams have already submitted their report.

"If Mann really wants a meeting, he should meet Home Minister Amit Shah. Why is he afraid of doing so? Is it because Shah might demand an account of the Rs 12,000 crore of the state disaster response fund?" Mann said while interacting with the media after inaugurating a railway health facility centre here.

The Union minister also accused Mann of making "baseless" statements.

He said Mann had earlier requested time, and then the PMO had clarified that the two central teams that visited the flood-hit areas would submit their reports directly to the home minister.

Bittu stressed that instead of politicising the flood issue, the chief minister should meet the home minister, present his case, and work in the interest of the people of Punjab.

On the first day of the special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday, the AAP government had moved a resolution in the House to condemn the "lack of response and the failure" of the BJP-led Centre to sanction a special financial package for the flood-hit Punjab.

The resolution also condemned the Prime Minister's Office for "not responding" to the Punjab Chief Minister's repeated request for a meeting, thereby "insulting" the people of the state, and preventing the state from making a proper and comprehensive representation of the full scale of the disaster. PTI COR CHS RHL