New Delhi, Oct 17 The BJP on Saturday attacked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant, asking why he wants to visit France when the state is grappling with the drugs issue alongside a “complete collapse” of law and order.
This came a day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave its nod to Mann’s visit to France, allowing the state government’s plea challenging the Centre’s decision to deny political clearance for it.
In its 56-page petition, the Punjab government submitted that the visit, scheduled from October 15 to 21, was proposed in connection with the participation of the Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd. (MARKFED), the apex cooperative of the state, in SIAL Paris 2026.
Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh alleged, “At a time Punjab is burning in the fire of drug abuse and law and order have completely collapsed, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is heading for France with his wife to celebrate his birthday.”
This is a highly “inappropriate situation,” the BJP Rajya MP charged, asking, “If this is an official tour, why is his wife accompanying him? Who is covering her expenses?”
“Setting up a MARKFED stall (in SIAL Paris 2026) is merely a pretext. The real intent is to travel abroad with his wife to celebrate a birthday, spending the money of the innocent, unsuspecting people of Punjab on his personal leisure trip,” Chugh added.
Taking on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), BJP national media convenor Ashish Usha Agarwal said Punjab’s treasury is not a “holiday fund for those in power”.
Punjab is grappling with “serious challenges”, yet the AAP government seems more interested in Paris than in Punjab’s “pressing concerns”, he charged.
“A birthday that coincides with an official trip, questions over the French government’s invitation, family members in the delegation and no clarity on the public expenditure. Who will answer for the taxpayers’ money?” Agarwal asked in a post on X.
He added, “The people of Punjab deserve accountability, not unanswered questions and overseas photo-ops.
(PTI News)
