69,000 jobs provided with no paper leaks, claims Punjab CM
New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Calling out the BJP, the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal for trying to tarnish the reputation of Punjab and its hardworking youth through false paper leak allegations, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said that his government has provided 69,000 government jobs solely on the basis of merit and without any recommendations or paper leaks.
Speaking during his visit to Parliament, where he met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and other MPs, the Chief Minister told the media that the BJP should stop maligning Punjabis for political gains and fight its political battle with him instead.
He said the beauty of democracy is that people should continue to meet and interact with one another. “Differences in ideology are natural in politics, and they will always exist, but they should never become differences of heart.”
Referring to the Opposition’s allegations over paper leaks, the Punjab CM said, “Our government has completed four-and-a-half years in office, but not a single examination paper has leaked in Punjab during this period.”
He said, “A few days ago, we did detect a case of cheating during a pharmacy examination. The exam started at 11 a.m., and by 11:15 a.m. we had found that a candidate was using a Bluetooth-enabled pen to scan the question paper and receive answers through an earpiece from people sitting outside. The Punjab Police acted immediately, arrested 10 candidates along with an 11-member gang operating from outside, and sent them to jail. Punjab works on the principle of ‘No Cash, No Farmaish’, only merit.”
Responding to the Opposition’s demand for the resignation of the state Education Minister, the Chief Minister said, “First of all, the pharmacy examination did not fall under the Education Department but under the Health Department. The Health Minister has already clarified that there was no paper leak. It was merely an attempt at cheating, which was immediately stopped, and the examination concluded successfully. Paper leaks cannot happen in Punjab.”
Taking on the Akali Dal, CM Mann said, “The Akali Dal no longer has any standing in Punjab. How much support do they even have now? As for the BJP, before staging protests outside Parliament, it should first look after Jantar Mantar.”
The Chief Minister said, “I stand before the people after providing 68,855 government jobs without taking a single rupee and purely on the basis of merit. Cheating and corruption in recruitment have become things of the past in Punjab. The BJP, the Congress and the Akali Dal should first put their own house in order instead of worrying about the ‘Jhaadu’ (broom).”
–IANS
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