Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ch. Anil Kumar said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind has begun back-room manoeuvres to remote-control the Punjab Government by signing a “Knowledge Sharing Agreement between the Government of NCT of Delhi and the Government of Punjab” today, which “enables the two Governments to send and receive officials, ministers and other personnel to learn and share their knowledge, experience and skills for public welfare”, which is unconstitutional.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that the recent incident of Delhi CM Arvind summoning senior Punjab officials, including the Chief Secretary, for a meeting with him in Delhi to undermine the powers of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, had attracted wide-spread criticism in Punjab, as Arvind had no power to hold such a meeting.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that when Covid cases were rising, people were hassled by price rise and unemployment, CM Arvind was busy back-seat driving of the Punjab Government, and doing election campaigning in Himachal Pradesh, in a gross and irresponsible manner, as his first priority and concern should be towards the people of Delhi, who have elected him the Chief Minister.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that people of Delhi were shocked to see CM Arvind taking Mann, a few Punjab Ministers and officials on a conducted tour of a few varnished class rooms and mohalla clinics to show them the “Delhi model of education and health care to be emulated in Punjab”, which had attracted  criticism for CM Mann in Punjab. He said that people in Punjab may not be aware that Arvind could not build a single new school in Delhi, though his election manifesto had promised that he will build 25 new schools; instead he shut down 16 Government schools, to deny even basic education to children from poor families. He wondered what will Punjab CM Mann learn from such visits to Delhi, as he could not improve the condition of schools and health care centres in his Parliamentary constituency in Punjab, during his eight years as a Member of Parliament.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that the Knowledge Sharing Agreement was a devious way to collect funds from Punjab to beef up the Aam Aadmi Party coffers, which Arvind can then use to fulfill his ambition to become a “national leader”, with the people of Delhi suffering the fall out of  his reckless political games.