Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “By appointing the Chief Secretary as Chairman of all urban planning and development authorities in Punjab, including PUDA, GMADA, GLADA, BDA, ADA, PDA, and others, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s meek and unabashed surrender to Arvind Kejriwal is now complete. He has handed over control of Punjab’s lands and development funds to his Delhi boss through a bureaucrat, who is a close aide of Kejriwal.”Badal said, “This move is designed to hand over Punjab’s entire wealth to looters, as it comes on the eve of Aam Aadmi Party government’s plan to acquire thousands of acres of Punjab’s land, including 24,000 acres in Ludhiana alone. This move is also final proof that Punjab is now being directly controlled by non-Punjabis, and even the pretence of ruling through Bhagwant Mann has ended.””It is common knowledge that Punjab bureaucrats report directly to Kejriwal and his non-Punjabi associates. Never in Punjab’s history has a bureaucrat been appointed as chairman of any authority in which the Chief Minister and his ministers are ex-officio members. Will the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues now attend meetings chaired by their subordinate officers?” he added.Badal further said, “We strongly condemn this move as a power-hungry manoeuvre by Kejriwal to consolidate control and exploit Punjab’s resources. As president of Punjab’s only regional party, Shiromani Akali Dal, I assure all Punjabis that we will strongly resist forcible acquisition by this non-Punjabi lobby through brazen abuse of government power.”
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