Congress, BJP slam Punjab-Delhi MoU, say Kejriwal wants to control Mann

Opposition BJP and Congress Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the knowledge sharing agreement signed between Punjab and Delhi governments, alleging it was his way to “control” the AAP dispensation in the state from the national capital.

The MoU was signed by Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann, enabling the two AAP governments to send and receive officials, ministers and other personnel to learn and share their knowledge, experience and skills for public welfare.

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the purpose of the MoU was to enable Kejriwal to run Punjab by “controlling” the state’s bureaucracy.

“This MoU btwn Punjab & Delhi Govt is nothing less than a mortgage of Punjab’s interest & sovereignty to @ArvindKejriwal. Kejriwal Ji your East India company like agenda to control & confiscate Punjab is not acceptable to Punjabis! CM @BhagwantMann we urge you not to surrender,” Sirsa tweeted after signing of the MoU.

Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar charged that ‘Knowledge Sharing Agreement’ was Kejriwal’s “devious method to remote-control the Punjab government in an unconstitutional manner.”

The recent incident of Kejriwal meeting senior Punjab officials, including the Chief Secretary of the state, undermined the powers of the Punjab CM, Kumar claimed.

BJP member and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri slammed the agreement, saying Kejriwal wanted to rule Punjab sitting in Delhi.

“In the name of this agreement, Kejriwal will now summon ministers and officers of Punjab and run the government of the state from Delhi. It will render Punjab Chief Minister into a puppet,” he alleged.

The AAP campaigned in Punjab elections, selling its ‘Delhi Model’ of governance so everyone knew the government in the state won by the party will follow it, Bidhuri said, and questioned the need of the MoU.

In a joint press conference with Mann after signing of the MoU, Kejriwal hit back at Opposition parties over their criticism.

“Manish Sisodia (Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister) visited Europe and Finland to learn about their education system. It will be stupid if someone says the Delhi government is being run by Finland.

“Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin visited Delhi. It can’t be alleged that the Tamil Nadu government is being run from Delhi,” Kejriwal said.

The two-day visit of the Punjab Chief Minister to see working of Kejriwal government’s schools, hospitals and Mohalla Clinic, concluded on Tuesday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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