5 min readChandigarhAug 27, 2025 08:35 AM IST
First published on: Aug 27, 2025 at 08:35 AM IST
The Opposition on Tuesday criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for attending an event in Chennai at a time when several parts of Punjab are reeling under floods and in need of urgent relief and rescue measures.
The CM is in Tamil Nadu as the chief guest at the launch of the expansion of the state’s Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme for government-aided primary schools in urban areas.
Lashing out at Mann, several senior Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders issued strong statements on social media. The Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, posted on X: “Farmers and poor families across Punjab are crying for help as their homes, fields and livelihoods drown in unprecedented floods and… CM Bhagwant Mann has flown to Tamil Nadu for yet another PR event… This shameless abandonment… is nothing short of betrayal.” State Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said Mann should have cancelled all engagements and focused on flood control and relief measures in Punjab. “The AAP government has completely failed the people of Punjab as no preparations were made in anticipation of heavy rains.” Warring said that while this is not the time for politics, the government and the administration should be held accountable. The PCC chief said that “although advance flood preparation is the standard norm… the AAP government failed even in the standard practice”. He also said the government and the bureaucracy failed to take note of the prediction that warned of more than normal monsoon rain. “…at least now the government should wake up from the slumber and take relief measures. I hope that Chief Minister Mann will cut short his visit to Tamil Nadu and return home to Punjab,” he said.
Congress MLA Pargat Singh (Jalandhar) said that Punjab, apart from floods, is also facing fear, loss and helplessness. “Families are stranded on rooftops, crops lie destroyed and homes are washing away. This is a humanitarian crisis, not just an environmental one. In this hour of pain, people expect their Chief Minister to stand with them. It is deeply unfortunate that while Punjab is under red alert, our CM is in Chennai…” he said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Demanding immediate action, the Jalandhar MLA also demanded immediate supply of clean drinking water, medical aid, fodder for livestock and shelters for displaced families. “This tragedy must be met with relief today and a credible long-term flood management plan tomorrow.”
“Girdawari (damage survey) must be completed within seven days, with compensation of Rs 60,000 per acre for destroyed crops, Rs 10 lakh to families who lost loved ones and Rs 5 lakh plus full treatment for the injured,” he said, adding that the government should also provide rehabilitation for those who lost homes and shops. The Congress MLA also said Punjab deserves urgency, compassion and accountability, not silence and absence.
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira also wrote on X, “The quote ‘Nero played the flute while Rome burnt’ aptly fits on BhagwantMann who’s busy touring… while Punjab is suffering from fury of statewide floods! We @INCIndia demand immediate flood relief measures including compensation for crop losses, livestock and property damage.”
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal also hit out at the CM for being out of state when “Punjab is drowning in floods”. He posted on X: “Homes are ruined, crops destroyed, loss of lives and… He is vacationing in Chennai with his family! This is utterly disgusting and shameful. Punjab ruddh reha hai, Mukh Mantri mauja lutt reha hai…”
The SAD chief also appealed to the party cadre to provide manpower, diesel, plastic pipes, tractors, food packets and fodder in flood-affected areas.
“I have visited Fazilka, Abohar and Sultanpur Lodhi in the past few days and am visiting Tarn Taran today. There are reports of flooding in Hoshiarpur also for which I have deputed SAD team to help the distressed”, he said.
The party MP and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said: “It is a matter of grave sorrow that Bhagwant Mann is… leaving Punjab submerged in floods, and the people of Punjab are regretting making him the CM today!”
National president of Youth Akali Dal (YAD) Sarabjeet Singh Jhinjer wrote on X: “Punjab is reeling under severe floods, with the situation only projected to worsen in the coming days. Farmers are fighting with their own hands to save their crops and homes, yet our CM Bhagwant Mann is busy holidaying with his family in Tamil Nadu. Such spineless and insensitive leadership is pushing Punjab into deeper misery!”
Ashwani Sharma, the Punjab BJP working president, also lashed out at Mann and said: “With nearly half of Punjab submerged… Stoves have gone cold, food has become scarce — yet Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann chose… breakfast with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin… Instead of cancelling his programs and rushing to flood-hit villages… Bhagwant Mann abandoned Punjabis in crisis. This exposes his complete lack of empathy or concern.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann serves food to students during the inauguration of the expansion of 'Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme' to government-aided schools in urban areas across Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (PTI Photo) 
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