Those who looted Punjab will be held accountable: Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said a list of those who looted the state is ready and they will be held accountable.

"Some have been sent behind bars, many more are in the waiting. Lists are ready. Those who looted the state will be held accountable. I just need some time," he said during a roadshow in Bhadaur.

Man was canvassing for the party candidate ahead of the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypolls.


He said former state minister and Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot has been sent behind bars on corruption charges.

Every penny of the public is now being spent on the public, he claimed.

Mann also took out road shows at Sehna, Ugoke, Tappa, Rurke Kalan, Karamgarh, Nangal, Sekha, Rajgarh and other villages and towns of the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency and appealed to people to ensure the victory of the AAP candidate.

Mann thanked people for electing 92 AAP MLAs, giving an overwhelming majority to the outfit in the state Assembly.

"Now, your responsibility is over and it is our responsibility now. It may take some time as the mess created for 70 years has to be set right but we will set the system right," he said.

Mann lashed out at the opposition for creating uproar over alleged deterioration of law and order in the state and said they are baffled with good governance of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state.

Mann said opposition leaders have been alarmed by the government's action against corruption and the mafia.

Many are now afraid of going to jail, he said.

The June 23 bypolls will be AAP's first major electoral battle after it formed the government in Punjab.

The Sangrur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Bhagwant Mann was elected to the state Assembly earlier this year.

AAP has fielded Gurmail Singh, who is the party's Sangrur district in-charge, while the Congress has placed its bet on former Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy.

The BJP has fielded former Barnala MLA Kewal Dhillon, who joined the party on June 4. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann is also contesting the elections.

Kamaldeep Kaur, sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination case, has been fielded by the Shiromani Akali Dal. SAD leaders have been appealing voters to send Kamaldeep Kaur to the Lok Sabha, saying it was needed for the release of all Sikh prisoners, who are in jails even after the completion of their life sentences.

Taking a dig at the Shiromani Akali Dal for seeking votes by playing the "Panthic card", Mann questioned the party chief, saying both Sukhbir Badal and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal are Lok Sabha MPs then why didn't they raise the issue for so many years.

On another issue, Mann targeted the Akali Dal and the Congress and said their leaders are not able to digest how a common man became the Punjab chief minister and now taking pro-people decisions.

Praising his party candidate Gurmail, Mann said he is a young man and understands the pain of common man.

By becoming an MP, he will raise the voice of people of Sangrur in the Lok Sabha, he said.