A day after BJP’s Jakhar chides him for ‘campaigning’ in Haryana, Punjab CM Mann visits flood-hit area

On Sunday he criticised the chief minister by tweeting that he was in Haryana for poll campaigning when Punjab was witnessing floods. The BJP leader said the chief minister should have visited the nearby areas of Chandigarh such as Derabassi, Mohali and Ropar but he was roaming in Panchkula. He alleged that the chief minister’s priority was votes in Haryana, and not the safety of the people of Punjab.

Mann was at a function in the city in Haryana on Sunday where Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a “Bijli Andolan” promising free power.

On Monday morning, Jakhar’s team told the media that he would meet flood victims at Shivjot Enclave in Kharar, where a house had collapsed. A video of the collapse went viral. He also visited Major Panchvati Enclave in Kharar, the Kurali bypass and Majri village.

Jakhar said, “Officers have been coming to these places and telling people to evacuate. Where will these people go? They call it ‘Aam Aadmi sarkar’ but there is nothing like a common man’s government. These people are not getting food. I appeal to my BJP colleagues to help these victims with food and other materials,” he said.

For his part, Mann tweeted in the morning, “I appeal to the residents of Punjab not to panic..I am taking information from every corner of Punjab, from every junior and senior official, it is a natural calamity and we will face it together. The government is with the people. All possible help will be provided,” he said.

Later he visited Kharar and Kajauli waterworks. “It is the duty of everyone to help the victims. It is raining heavily in Himachal. We are working out how to channel the water that we are getting. We have closed private and government schools till July 13 so that they do not face any problems,” he said. “We will get a special girdawari done. The government will compensate the farmers who have faced crop damage and the residents who have faced damage to their houses and property.”