Bajwa livid as SAD leader throws spanner in works
Thursday, 23/01/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140123/punjab.htm#1
Gurdaspur : Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa has lashed out at the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for “instructing” his legislators and officials to stop development works in villages of Congress supporters.
Gurdaspur MP Bajwa had sanctioned Rs 6 lakh under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) Scheme for development works in Pahra village, 3 km from here.
The grant was sanctioned on the insistence of Gurmeet Singh Pahra, a Bajwa loyalist. He was in the reckoning for the party ticket from the Gurdaspur assembly seat, but lost out at the last moment.
Gurmeet alleged that at the behest of a local SAD leader, SHO Sohan Lal with a posse of policemen visited the village and asked PWD officials and the contractor to stop re-carpeting the streets. This infuriated Gurmeet and he sought the intervention of DC Abhinav Trikha and SSP SS Gill.
Nearly 500 Christians reside on both sides of the street that was being re-carpeted. Sources claim that all Christian families in the village are Congress supporters.
Bajwa claimed that the SAD top brass had instructed its MLAs and government officials to stop development projects being undertaken from the MPLAD funds of Congress MPs.
“I am against vendetta politics. The CM and his deputy should understand that MPLAD funds are meant for the development of parliamentary constituencies. Politics should not cloud the developmental projects,” the state Congress chief said.
The police, however, claimed that they had received a complaint from Gurdaspur Block Samiti chairperson Harbinder Singh Happy, considered close to the SAD leader, that there was no need to re-carpet the street as it had already been done.
The DC said the development works in the area would not be stopped.
Long and short of it
Partap Singh Bajwa had sanctioned Rs 6 lakh under the MPLAD scheme for development works in Pahra village
SAD leader allegedly asked police to stop PWD officials from re-carpeting the streets in the village
Nearly 500 Christians living near the street are Congress supporters
I am against vendetta politics. The CM and his deputy must understand that the MPLAD funds are meant for the development of parliamentary constituencies.
Partap Singh Bajwa, punjab cong chief
