Chandigarh, Oct 3 (PTI) Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said the people of the state have elected Bhagwant Mann as chief minister and he should not depend on an "outside CM" for inaugurating welfare schemes.

His remarks came a day after AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Patiala for the launch of the 'Sehatmand Punjab' mission aimed at rejuvenating government hospitals in Punjab. Kejriwal along with Mann also launched an intensive care unit and other facilities at Mata Kaushalya Hospital in Patiala.

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Jakhar accused the Bhagwant Mann government of playing a "cruel joke" on Punjabis in the name of 'Sehatmand Punjab'. All the AAP dispensation had to showcase in the name of 'Sehatmand Punjab' was a 10-bedded refurbished hospital ward, the BJP leader alleged.

He also claimed that the ruling AAP was desperate to seek credit for acts which were otherwise the government's duty.

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Bhagwant Mann has been elected by Punjabis and he should not depend on an "outside CM" for various inaugurations, the BJP leader said, adding, "Prior to this, Kejriwal had inaugurated a School of Eminence (in Amritsar). I will not call it inauguration, but re-dedication of a Smart School which already existed."

"Will a hospital ward, a school inauguration and other inaugurations be done by the chief minister from outside? Is Bhagwant Mann not capable of doing this?" Jakhar posed. "Is Punjab without a chief minister that we need to frequently call a CM from another state for inaugurations?"

Slamming the AAP leadership, he sought to know what happened to the promise of generating Rs 30,000 crore of additional revenue from transparent sand auctioning, reformed liquor policy and other avenues.

"This government has failed utterly on each parameter and the mounting debt on Punjab should worry every Punjabi. If we only keep paying interest on debt by taking more loans, it is a sure-shot recipe for financial ruin," Jakhar added.

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit had, in a recent letter to the chief minister, said he learnt that the debt of Punjab rose by about Rs 50,000 crore during the AAP regime and sought details of utilisation of this "huge amount".

On Tuesday, Mann wrote to Purohit over the issue of borrowings by his government, saying that a "mammoth" amount of Rs 27,000 crore went into repaying interest on debts that were inherited.

(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)