Punjab CM Mann got angry at the Centre, said- attitude towards the states is very worrying

CM Bhagwant Mann: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday joined Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's protest against the Center along with Arvind Kejriwal. Addressing the gathering at Jantar Mantar, CM Mann thanked Vijayan and said that 'he has taken important initiatives to save the Constitution, democracy and federal structure of the country.' At present, the attitude of the central government towards the states is 'extremely worrying'.

Mann said, "The days of the budget session are going on, today we would have been sitting in our offices and making the budget of our state, but we had to come to Jantar Mantar for our rights." CM Mann said that Punjab is an agricultural state. Farmers of the state produce 182 lakh metric tonnes of rice every year and supply it to the country. Yet the Central Government is withholding Rs 5,500 crore of our Rural Development Fund (RDF). This fund is used for construction and repair of marketing yards and access roads to them in rural areas.

"The central government is blocking our funds"

CM Mann further said, “We had to approach the Supreme Court in this matter. He said that on one hand the Central Government is blocking our funds and on the other hand the Governor appointed by the Center is creating problems for us in the daily functioning of the government. Last time he declared the Punjab Assembly session illegal, we had to stop the session midway and go to the Supreme Court. There, on the very first date, the court reprimanded him and allowed us to call the session."

"BJP governors act as opposition"

He alleged that in states where BJP is not even in the opposition, BJP governors act as the opposition. He writes a new letter to the government every day. I have never seen the Governor of any BJP ruled state like Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh interfering in the functioning of the government or writing letters to any Chief Minister. CM Kejriwal alleged that the central government is using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as its weapon.