A 'defunct' CM: Congress lambasts Mann govt over 'poor handling' of flood-hit Punjab

Chandigarh, Sep 10 (IANS) Amid the ongoing blame game between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP over devastating floods in Punjab, the Congress party on Wednesday trained guns at the Bhagwant Mann government and accused it of looking the other way while people of the state were grappling with one of the worst flood situations.

Many districts of Punjab, including Gurdaspur and Amritsar, are among the severely affected regions, resulting in the loss of at least 30 lives and the displacement of thousands of residents.

Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, speaking to IANS, criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and accused the AAP dispensation of ignoring and neglecting the state's preparedness in dealing with such a calamitous situation.

He claimed that Bhagwant Mann is a completely "defunct" Chief Minister, who has not held even a single Flood Control Board meeting till now.

"Mann cannot even face the situation. Such a Chief Minister has no right to remain in office. He has ruined Punjab. He claims to belong to a common household, yet stays in rooms costing Rs 1.5 lakh. If you are really from a common household, then this country, Punjab, needs to be saved from you," said the Congress MP from Gurdaspur.

He also expressed disappointment over the flood relief allocation of Rs 1,600 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and stated that this was nothing compared to the devastation in Punjab.

Days ago, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during a review of flood-affected areas, blamed illegal mining for floods, claiming that it had weakened the river embankments and thus contributed to the disaster. However, the Punjab Congress contested the claim, saying the Central and state governments were to be blamed for "unchecked" illegal mining in the state, and the current situation only exposed their "collective failure".

Meanwhile, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring has also accused the Mann government of misusing Rs 12,000 crore funds allocated under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF).

In a press meeting, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief alleged that the state government diverted the SDRF funds for other uses and left people to fend for themselves. He also demanded that a criminal case be registered against the government officials for allegedly misappropriating these funds.

--IANS

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