Chandigarh, Sep 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) Former Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Sunil Jakhar on Saturday accused the Bhagwant Mann‑led government of trying to conceal its alleged financial mismanagement by taking credit for a Union government scheme and spending public money on advertisements.
Addressing the media, Jakhar referred to newspaper advertisements publicising a Rs 750‑crore scheme for villages with a substantial Scheduled Caste population. He said the advertisements falsely portrayed the scheme as a state government achievement.
Jakhar claimed that the funds were being provided under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY), which he described as a 100 per cent centrally funded scheme. According to him, the Union government “bears the entire cost, with no financial contribution required from the Punjab government”.
He said the scheme has been operated in its current form since 2020–21 and provides development grants to villages where Scheduled Castes account for more than 40 per cent of the population. The Union government had identified 3,763 villages in Punjab for the scheme. Funds had already been released for 1,200 villages, and the remaining villages were expected to receive funds shortly.
Displaying large newspaper advertisements carrying Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s photograph, Jakhar accused the state government of using public funds to claim credit for a centrally funded programme.
He alleged the government had undertaken no comparable initiative of its own for village development and instead promoted its image through advertisements.
Jakhar demanded an immediate apology from the state government. He also said the BJP would examine whether previously released funds had reached the intended villages or whether any money had been diverted to advertising before reaching beneficiaries.
Jakhar criticised the state government’s Mawan Dhian Satkar Yojana, saying the programme had failed to address the concerns of women from families affected by drug‑related deaths. He alleged that mothers and daughters were approaching the government seeking justice for sons and brothers who had died because of drugs, but were instead being offered Rs 1,000.
He claimed the government was humiliating rather than respecting the women and suggested renaming the scheme Mawan Dhian Tiraskar Yojana, or the “Disrespect for Mothers and Daughters Scheme”.
On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Jakhar accused the Congress and AAP of staging protests for publicity rather than using the formal process available to voters.
He questioned why the two parties were holding demonstrations instead of filing objections with the Election Commission if they believed legitimate voters had been removed from the rolls.
Source: IANS
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