Ahead of subsequent 12 months’s Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday made a giant assertion, saying he’ll not contest the 2024 common elections. Sidhu, a former MP, had misplaced the 2022 meeting elections from Amritsar East seat. The cricketer-turned-politician, nevertheless, shunned revealing whether or not his spouse Navjot Kaur Sidhu will contest the Lok Sabha elections.
“Sidhu is not contesting Lok Sabha (polls),” the previous Punjab Congress chief advised reporters in Bhatinda. When requested if his spouse was going to contest subsequent 12 months’s elections, the previous cricketer mentioned “Only she could answer that question”.
Sidhu hits out at Punjab govt
The Congress leader additionally attacked Bhawant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) authorities over rising debt, and legislation and order. Sidhu accused the Punjab authorities of deviating from “burning issues of the state”.
Sidhu mentioned contractual employees have been holding ‘dharnas’ demanding the regularisation of their providers whereas authorities staff are protesting searching for the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
More than a 12 months has handed because the notification on the OPS has been issued, however the authorities has didn’t implement it, mentioned Sidhu, including that the Congress authorities has already applied the OPS in Himachal Pradesh. Not solely staff, farmers within the state are additionally holding protests, he mentioned.
Sidhu alleged that the Mann authorities was not utilizing central funds for the assigned functions, resulting from which the Union authorities has withheld funds value Rs 8,000 crore for Punjab. Repairing of roads in rural areas has come to a standstill as rural improvement funds value Rs 5,500 crore have been withheld, the Congress leader mentioned.
The Centre has withheld Rs 621 crore below the National Health Mission, Rs 850 crore of mandi improvement fund and Rs 1,800 crore of particular help fund for the state, he mentioned. The Centre has mentioned that they’re not utilizing funds for the assigned functions, Sidhu claimed.
He alleged that the state authorities does not have funds even to contribute its 40 per cent share in a central scheme. Hitting out on the Mann authorities over the “rising” debt of the state, Sidhu mentioned the federal government has thus far raised Rs 60,000 crore of debt, which is able to improve to Rs 70,000 crore within the subsequent three extra months. Before coming to energy, the AAP had mentioned that it will repay the excellent debt, he mentioned, including that the state was being pushed in direction of a monetary emergency.
General elections 2024
It must be talked about right here that common elections are anticipated to be held between April and May 2024 to elect the members of the 18th Lok Sabha. The tenure of Lok Sabha is scheduled to finish on 16 June 2024. The earlier common elections have been held in April–May 2019. After the election, the National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, fashioned the union authorities, with Narendra Modi persevering with as Prime Minister.
(With PTI inputs)
