Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is on a ‘private trip’ to Australia as the state faces a crisis amid the ongoing farmer protest and recent bomb blasts. According to an Indian Express report, Bhagwant Mann flew to Australia on Tuesday along with his wife Dr Gurpreet Kaur, his security chief ADGP AK Pandey, and Additional Principal Secretary Varjeet Walia. He is likely to return to India in early January. Reportedly, he is also accompanied by some officials from the State sports department.
Sources told Indian Express that he may be in Australia on a ‘private trip’ to attend the Pro Kabbadi League match to be held on the 28th of December in Melbourne.
Since November 23, 8 blasts have taken place across Punjab. Four in Amritsar, three in Gurdaspur, and one in Nawanshahr. Opposition, including Congress, has hit out at AAP and its Chief Minister for being on a private tour ‘while the state burns’.
Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, said, “The state has been going through a very crucial phase now. The border districts have been shaken by the (the recent) blasts, exposing the poor law and order situation.” The Congress leader also spoke of the fast-unto-death of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, claiming that Bhagwant Mann is on a private trip to Australia while the centre is ‘plotting against farmers’.
The SAD’s chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said it was “shocking” that Mann is ‘enjoying a New Year party at a time when Punjabis were paying tributes’ during the Shaheedi fortnight.
