Amritsar, Sep 20 (PTI) Union minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday, accusing it of diverting people's attention from "real issues" in Delhi and Punjab.

The Union information and broadcasting minister also said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will form the next government in Punjab with an absolute majority.

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Replying to a question on the AAP summoning a special session of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday, Thakur said in spite of enjoying an absolute majority in Delhi and Punjab, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party indulges in such "propaganda" to divert people's attention from "real issues" and the alleged liquor scam in the national capital.

The Punjab cabinet on Tuesday approved the summoning of a special session of the Assembly on September 22 to bring a confidence motion.

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The ruling AAP in Punjab had recently claimed that at least 10 of its MLAs were "approached" by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore each in a bid to topple the six-month-old government in the state.

Replying to a question, Thakur asserted that the saffron party will form the next government in Punjab with an absolute majority.

"If the BJP can form its government in Haryana twice in a row, for a third time in Goa, again in Manipur and Uttarakhand and at the Centre in 2014 and 2019, then it can form the government in Punjab as well," he said.

To a question on poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, his native state, Thakur claimed that most of the AAP leaders there have already left the party and joined the BJP.

To a question on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, he said it is a matter of deep concern if the reports that he was deplaned at the Frankfurt airport as he was in an inebriated state are true.

The Opposition in Punjab targeted Mann on Monday, alleging that he was deplaned from a Delhi-bound aircraft at the Frankfurt airport as he was drunk, a charge dismissed by the AAP as "baseless".

Earlier, Thakur attended the annual (sports) prize distribution ceremony at the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) here and interacted with students.

He said the GNDU's reputation precedes itself and it is one of the major sports universities in the country.

"Guru Nanak Dev University's reputation speaks for itself as they have won the prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for record 23 times and produced 34 Arjuna, 2 Dronacharya and 6 Padma Shri Awardees! I applaud their commitment towards building a sports culture!" he said in a tweet.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)