Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday faced widespread condemnation for summoning civil servants from Punjab to Delhi in the absence of the state’s chief minister, Bhagwant Mann. Bhagwant Mann, who became the Punjab chief minister last month following an unprecedented win by the AAP in the assembly polls, is now being mocked as the remote control chief minister.
This was after Kejriwal reportedly met top officials from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited in Delhi. Also reported to be present at the meeting were Punjab Chief Secretary and Secretary, Power.
Curiously, Power Supply Minister Harbhajan Singh too was not present at the meeting held in Delhi by Kejriwal.
Reacting to the controversy, former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu attacked Kejriwal by calling Mann a remote control chief minister.
“Let the tempest of truth run, you never know which round of the storm removes the mask from these hypocrites. Punjabs IAS officers summoned by @ArvindKejriwal in CM @BhagwantMann’s absence. This exposes the Defacto CM & Delhi remote control. Clear breach of federalism, insult to Punjabi pride. Both must clarify,” Sidhu tweeted.
चलने दो आंधियाँ हकीकत की, न जाने कौन से झोंके से बहरूपियों के मुखौटे उड़ जाएं
Punjabs IAS officers summoned by @ArvindKejriwal in CM @BhagwantMann’s absence. This exposes the Defacto CM & Delhi remote control. Clear breach of federalism, insult to Punjabi pride. Both must clarify— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) April 12, 2022
Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh tweeted, “Worst was feared, worst happened. @ArvindKejriwal has taken over Punjab much before it was expected to happen. That @BhagwantMann is a rubber stamp was a foregone conclusion already, now Kejriwal has proved it right by chairing Punjab officers’ meeting in Delhi.”
Worst was feared, worst happened. @ArvindKejriwal has taken over Punjab much before it was expected to happen. That @BhagwantMann is a rubber stamp was a foregone conclusion already, now Kejriwal has proved it right by chairing Punjab officers' meeting in Delhi.
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) April 12, 2022
Kejriwal and his party colleagues have not responded to the critcism. Just before the assembly polls, Kejriwal’s former colleague, Kumar Vishwas, has revealed how the AAP chief harboured secret desires to become the chief minister of Punjab. Recalling one of his old conversations, Vishwas had said that Kejriwal even told him to become the prime minister of the first independent country. This was in reference to Punjab leaving the Indian union and becoming a new country.