Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
today termed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to
Chandigarh as a "sinister media stunt" staged with the sole
purpose of "befooling" people of Delhi, Punjab and the rest of
the country.
The opposition party in Punjab said the visit was a "flop
show" as it did not yield anything.
Kejriwal held parleys earlier in the day with Haryana
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to check pollution in the
national capital.
Addressing a press conference here, SAD leader and former
finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said the AAP supremo
was in the habit of inventing a make-belief solution to the
problems faced by people of Delhi.
"Last year, he came up with the odd-even scheme and spent
crores of rupees on a media blitz to take political mileage of
the same. This year he has come up with the idea of meeting
the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab with the sole
purpose of flogging these meetings as an achievement," he
said.
"All Kejriwal could say after the meeting with his
Haryana counterpart was that concern had been expressed about
health issues due to stubble burning. Kejriwal could have
expressed this sentiment on the phone, but chose to indulge in
cheap publicity on this sensitive issue even though he knew
that the talks (with his Haryana counterpart) would not have
any outcome," he said.
Dhindsa said stubble burning alone was not responsible
for the smog situation in Delhi.
"If that was so, Chandigarh would have been the worst
sufferer. The truth is that Kejriwal has failed to check
vehicular pollution and is now trying to blame the farmers of
Punjab and Haryana for his own failures.
"If the Delhi chief minister is serious about this issue,
he should provide financial assistance to the neighbouring
states to tackle stubble burning. Agriculture equipment and
establishment of bio-mass plants can provide a lasting
solution to utilise paddy straw," he said.
Meanwhile, Punjab Irrigation and Power Minister Rana
Gurjeet Singh asked Kejriwal not to "outsource the solutions
to his own problems".
He said, Kejriwal, by trying to involve the Punjab and
Haryana governments, was only aiming at shifting the blame and
diverting the attention of the people of Delhi.
PTI
