Amritsar, March 16— AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said drugs and corruption remain Punjab’s biggest challenges, as he reaffirmed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would complete his five-year term. He dismissed opposition claims of a leadership change, calling them baseless.
Kejriwal and Mann visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar to mark three years of AAP’s government in Punjab. The visit followed Kejriwal’s return from a 10-day Vipassana meditation session in Hoshiarpur. Accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal and AAP leaders, including Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, he offered prayers at the shrine.
Speaking to reporters, Kejriwal said the state’s fight against drugs and corruption was crucial. “Three crore people of Punjab have come together to wage war against drugs and corruption… this is a battle for nyay (justice),” he said. He added that they had prayed for strength to continue serving the people.
Dismissing opposition claims that Mann could be replaced, Kejriwal said, “Mann saab will complete five years, you do not need to worry… he will complete the next five years as well.”
His remarks come amid political speculation, with Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa recently alleging that 32 AAP MLAs were in touch with him and that Mann was in discussions with the BJP. “When Kejriwal decides to remove him, he will pack his bags and join them (BJP),” Bajwa had claimed.
Mann, addressing reporters, said his government remained committed to transforming Punjab into a ‘Rangla Punjab’ (prosperous Punjab). “On March 16, 2022, in Khatkar Kalan, we had pledged to make Punjab prosperous again… we are working with good intentions and full honesty to fulfill this promise,” he said.
The chief minister claimed that his administration had provided 52,000 government jobs in the last three years and was actively working to tackle the drug crisis. “The work done in these three years has not been done even in the last 70 years. We will take the fight against drugs to its logical conclusion,” he wrote on X.
