Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that Congress was suppressing the voice of the party’s Punjab unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Kejriwal said that Sidhu has been working on people-centric issues ahead of the Punjab elections that are scheduled for early next year.

At a press conference in Punjab, the AAP chief said that Sidhu had exposed the false promises made by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in the run up to the 2022 Punjab Assembly election.

“Yesterday [Monday], chief minister Channi claimed his government has ended the sand mafia and reduced the price of the sand,” Kejriwal said. “Immediately, Mr Sidhu said this information is wrong. He highlighted that the sand mafia is still operating. I salute his courage.”

Kejriwal also made eight promises to the teachers in Punjab after taking inputs from them for a month about the problems they face. He said that these promises will come into force as soon as his party forms a government in Punjab.

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“As many as 2.4 million children are studying in government schools and their future is in danger,” he said. “The teachers told me that there are many schools where there are no teachers.”

Arvind Kejriwal’s poll promises in Punjab:

  • Transforming the education system.
  • Turning contractual jobs into permanent ones.
  • Changing the transfer policy by making it more transparent.
  • Cancelling non-teaching work for teachers.
  • Filling all vacancies in the state.
  • Training from abroad.
  • Timely promotion.
  • Cashless medical facility for teachers and family members.

The AAP has been trying to make inroads into Punjab politics ahead of the state Assembly elections. The party has also been taking a dig at the Congress, which is in power in the state.

Kejriwal had on Monday said that Channi announced free electricity up to 400 units for all households after he made a similar promise in September. But the AAP leader claimed that no one has received free electricity as promised by the chief minister.