India News | Mann at Centre of AAP's Poll Campaign, Alleges Centre 'hates' Punjab

Chandigarh, Mar 11 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday slammed the BJP-led Centre, alleging that it "hates" the state and does not want it to be a "rangla" (vibrant) state.

Mann was addressing a gathering after the launch of the party's poll campaign and slogan "Sansad ch vee Bhagwant Mann, Khushal Punjab te vadhegi shaan" [Bhagwant Mann in Parliament (polls) for a prosperous Punjab].

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The slogan reflects that the AAP's campaign is designed around Chief Minister Mann.

Mann thanked AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for showing confidence in him through the slogan.

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"In the slogan, a lot of confidence has been shown in me. With this slogan, my responsibility will also increase," said Mann.

"I assure you (Kejriwal) that we will not break your confidence shown in us and we will get you all 13 seats," asserted the chief minister.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a constituent of the INDIA bloc, is fighting the Lok Sabha elections alone in Punjab.

Addressing a gathering, Mann said the AAP will be victorious in all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

Stating the reason why it is important for the AAP to win all the 13 seats, Mann said the BJP-led Centre "hates" Punjab. It does not want Punjab to lead and become a "rangla" state as the BJP has never won from the state.

On this occasion, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was also present.

Mann slammed the Centre, alleging that it has withheld the state's Rs 8,000 crore of funds.

"Rs 5,500 crore of rural development fund, which is used to build mandis and roads, has been withheld," said Mann.

He asked former chief minister Amarinder Singh, who is now with the BJP, to use the RDF funds somewhere else but not on mandis and connecting roads.

The government of India now wants the state government to reduce the mandi fee from three per cent to zero, he said.

Mann said the state's share of national health mission funds has been withheld. He asked the people to ensure victory of the AAP in all 13 seats.

"If you give me 13 hands (seats), we will get more from Delhi, Kurukshetra in Haryana and Gujarat. If we have 30-40 seats, then nobody will dare to stop a single penny of the state," he said.

(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)