Chandigarh, Apr 26 (PTI) Opposition parties in Punjab on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of "surrendering" the state to his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal by signing a knowledge-sharing agreement, prompting Mann to hit back while pledging to reform the state's education, health and other sectors.

Rejecting the allegations, the Punjab chief minister said his government will not hesitate in taking steps that would benefit the state and its people.

Also Read | India Now Holds the World Record for Waving the Maximum Number of National Flags at the … – Latest Tweet by DD News.

A knowledge-sharing agreement was signed on Tuesday between the two chief ministers with Mann saying that 117 schools and mohalla clinics will be developed in Punjab.

The signing of the agreement invited sharp reactions from the opposition parties which accused Mann of surrendering his authority and institutionalising interference in the border state.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: 20-Year-Old Girl Abducted, Raped by Neighbour in Ujjain; Accused Absconding.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal accused Mann of selling off the interests of Punjab to Delhi under the garb of the agreement and claimed that Kejriwal had become the “de-facto” chief minister of Punjab.

Dubbing it as a “black day” in the history of the state, Badal asked Mann why he had betrayed Punjab and its people by surrendering its autonomy to Delhi.

Reacting to the agreement, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa termed it complete abrogation of responsibility on behalf of the state government towards its people.

"The agreement between @PunjabGovtIndia and Delhi Govt is akin to inviting the British to 'safeguard' the Maharajah as requested by the Lahore Durbar in 1846. It is a complete abrogation of responsibility on behalf of the Govt of Punjab to its people," he said.

"Such an agreement will ensure that Punjab Govt is essentially a colony outpost of @ArvindKejriwal ji. No transparency, no accountability and a complete selling off Punjab to Delhi in perpetuity," alleged Bajwa in another tweet.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring took a swipe at Mann and asked him to admit that Kejriwal would now run Punjab from Delhi.

"This is not any agreement, but simply an instrument of surrender,” said Warring.

The Pradesh Congress Committee president questioned the logic behind the agreement between the chief minister of a full-fledged state and a “semi-state” like Delhi, which is smaller than the smallest district in Punjab and whose functions are limited mainly to local governance.

Congress leader Navjot Sidhu also expressed his displeasure and said, “Under the garb of knowledge sharing agreement, CM @BhagwantMann has surrendered Punjab's autonomy. It has legitimized @ArvindKejriwal unconstitutional intervention & control over Punjab's internal affairs. He's in driver's seat & unauthorized authority. It breaks Punjab's pride.”

Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma too slammed Mann, saying it was not a memorandum of understanding but a memorandum of surrender.

Reacting to the opposition's allegation that the affairs of Punjab will be run from Delhi.

“Why will Delhi run it. The government of Punjab has been elected by people of the state,” he stressed.

“If we have to go to Italy to bring something good for Punjab, we will go there as well,” said Mann, who signed the agreement while on a two-day visit to the national capital.

Attacking the SAD chief, Mann asked Badal whether China, Israel and other countries had run his party's government when he had visited those countries.

“Let Punjab progress… It is a knowledge-sharing agreement and one should have knowledge to read it and little knowledge is too dangerous,” Mann said while taking a swipe at Badal.

Mann also slammed Bajwa and Sidhu for "unnecessarily" criticising his government. He also asked the opposition parties not to criticise his government for the sake of criticism.

Stating that the intention of his government was clean, Mann promised the people of the state that their children will get education in good schools and they will get good treatment at world-class hospitals in the state.

He further said his government was working towards eradicating unemployment, attracting new industries, besides setting the agriculture sector right.

(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)