Raghav Chadha on target of AAP leaders: Asked to raise voice of flood victims, he raised the issue of samosas at the airport

Chandigarh, 5 April. Senior leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab, including Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP Punjab chief Aman Arora and AAP Punjab chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, have lashed out at Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha for failing to raise important issues of Punjab in Parliament. The leaders stressed that despite repeated talks, serious issues like RDF dues of Rs 8,500 crore, GST loss of Rs 60,000 crore and flood relief of Rs 1,600 crore were not raised. Calling this silence a betrayal of the people of Punjab and the fatwa, the leaders said that not raising the concerns of farmers and the plight of flood victims shows a complete disconnect from the ground reality.

Expressing concern over representation in Parliament, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that Raghav Chadha was elected to the Rajya Sabha by Punjab MLAs with the expectation that he would strongly represent the concerns of the state at the national level. However, he completely avoided raising even a single sensitive issue related to Punjab. Listing the main financial issues, Harpal Singh Cheema said that he failed to raise several important issues including outstanding Rural Development Fund of about Rs 8,500 crore, huge GST loss of about Rs 60,000 crore to Punjab after the implementation of GST and additional financial loss of Rs 5,000-6,000 crore due to changes in GST compensation.

The issue of funds under the National Health Mission was also not raised properly. Referring to flood relief, he said that despite the Prime Minister announcing relief of Rs 1,600 crore for Punjab after the terrible floods, not a single part of that amount reached the Punjab treasury. All these issues were repeatedly brought to Raghav Chadha’s attention, yet he did not raise even a single one of these issues in Parliament. Expressing disappointment, the Cabinet Minister of Punjab said that we had sent him to Rajya Sabha with expectations, but he did not open his mouth even once on these issues in front of the Prime Minister. This clearly shows agreement. Aam Aadmi Party is a party that gives opportunities to the common people, but remaining silent on such important issues is a betrayal of Punjab and its people.

Meanwhile, AAP Punjab chief Aman Arora said that Raghav Chadha should remember the role of Arvind Kejriwal and the party in lifting him politically. Instead of focusing on the burning issues of Punjab like outstanding RDF and funds and flood relief, he raised issues which the entire country has seen. Reiterating the principles of the party, he stressed that the Aam Aadmi Party was founded on the principles of fighting for the rights of the people without fear and any deviation from that path is unthinkable and unacceptable. Raghav Chadha himself should introspect and remember the core principle of the party to stand against injustice and advocate for the rights of the people.

On the other hand, AAP spokesperson and MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that Raghav Chadha’s silence on the poor condition of people affected by the floods in Punjab is very disappointing. Party leaders and affected people had repeatedly requested him to raise the issue of compensation in Parliament, especially the relief of Rs 1,600 crore announced by the Prime Minister, which has not been received yet. Standing in a flood-hit village, he said it was clear that people had suffered huge losses to their homes, crops and infrastructure, yet their voices were never raised at the national level. We had expected him to make a strong demand for justice and relief for the flood victims of Punjab, but his silence has been disappointing. The people of Punjab will not forget this negligence. The AAP leaders together said that the issues of Punjab should be raised strongly at every platform, and not doing so would be a betrayal of the people and the mandate given to AAP.