Chandigarh, Oct 8 (IANS) Former Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sunil Jakhar on Thursday staged a protest outside the Punjab Development Commission office here, alleging that the institution had become a centre of “loot” by sidelining constitutional institutions and undermining the legal framework.
He described it as a “hub of corruption in Punjab” and alleged that a group of “non-state actors” was plundering the state while weakening its governance structure.
Speaking to the media outside the commission’s office, Jakhar alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had “mortgaged” Punjab to Arvind Kejriwal.
He further alleged that Kejriwal had outsourced the task of running the commission to his appointees, who were being paid substantial salaries from the state exchequer.
Accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of functioning like a “corporation”, Jakhar alleged that the commission had been transformed into a mechanism for large-scale misuse of public resources.
Rather than serving as the Punjab Development Commission, he claimed, it had become a “commission for looting Punjab”.
Jakhar further alleged that the commission had appointed preferred individuals in disregard of rules and legal procedures and paid them salaries higher than those of senior government officials.
He claimed that the commission’s appointees were collectively being paid around Rs 2 crore per month in salaries.
Jakhar also alleged that the commission had collected personal data of Punjab residents under various pretexts.
Referring to the collection of data relating to drug use, he alleged that extensive personal information had been gathered and could potentially be misused for political or commercial purposes.
He termed the exercise “highly illegal”.
Jakhar further claimed that the commission did not have a single Punjabi member who fully understood the state’s local conditions.
He alleged that it had neither held substantive discussions with Punjab’s legislators and ministers nor sought their advice while preparing development plans.
Questioning the commission’s functioning, Jakhar said meaningful development planning could not take place without consultation with elected representatives and stakeholders.
While acknowledging the academic qualifications of the appointees, he alleged that their actions were not serving the interests of Punjab.
–IANS
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