Punjab Outlook

Chandigarh  ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : After Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called upon youngsters to contribute to Punjab’s economy instead of following foreign dreams in unauthorized manners, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Monday asked the Punjab CM whether he had something to offer to those who have been repatriated by the Trump Administration in the US. “Mann must refrain from giving them false hope. He has nothing to offer to the deportees and other youngsters. The third plane of deportees has arrived in the past two weeks, but the AAP government has not yet announced a rehabilitation programme, employment, and compensation. This is not a reverse migration as Mann calls it. They have been deported. In the absence of any rehabilitation and compensation, such statements are like rubbing salt on the wounds of the deportees,” Bajwa added. Bajwa stated, “First and foremost, the AAP government should arrest all the illegal travel agents, who were involved in human smuggling and get victims’ money refunded. The deportees put everything at stake to illegally migrate to the US. Now they have nothing to restart their lives.” Senior Congress Leader Bajwa said that Mann claims youngsters were returning from abroad to take up government jobs. This is a completely inauthentic and misleading statement. Can Mann provide Punjabis with data as to how many youngsters returned to Punjab permanently from abroad to join government jobs? His other claim to provide 50,000 jobs also seemed baseless as he has failed to give the details. “After the AAP assumed power, Punjab’s economy has been in a total shambles. The outstanding debt in Punjab is expected to touch Rs 4,50,000 crore by the end of 2026-27, the last year of this government’s term. It was Rs 2,81,773 crore in 2022 when AAP formed the government. What is the point of providing government jobs, when the government does not even have funds to give salaries to government employees on time?” Bajwa said that the state’s law and order has collapsed, the drug menace is rising rapidly, and Punjab’s industry has migrated to states like UP, however, the Punjab CM does not shy away from delivering deceitful statements.