Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu announces first point of 'Punjab Model', vows to end run of ‘mafia’

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday announced the first point of ‘Punjab Model’ - Income Sources – in the run up to the state Assembly elections.

"This time people of Punjab will elect their CM based on the futuristic agenda for the state," Sidhu said.

He said that the Punjab Model would be a part of the Congress's election manifesto about which the party high command has been appraised of, adding that this (Punjab Model) would decide his political future.

Addressing the media in Chandigarh, Sidhu clarified that it is not a war against any individual but a fight for the benefit of Punjab with a revenue-based model. “The shortsightedness and anti-Punjab policies of previous state governments have dragged the state under heavy debt. The Punjab economy has been given a burial. The ‘mafia’ has been operating in the state in connivance with certain politicians,” he said.

Taking a dig at former Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, Sidhu advised him to live a ‘happy retired life’.

"The party is likely to announce the list of its candidates in the next one week," Sidhu said when asked about the Congress candidates who will contest the ensuing Assembly elections.

He promised to set up Punjab State Liquor Corporation, Punjab State Sand Mining Corporation, Punjab State Regulatory Commission for ‘cable mafia’, Punjab Transport Corporation to end ‘transport mafia’, regulation of total outdoor advertisements to cap ‘cable mafia’, to prevent huge losses caused by the ‘mafia’ to the state exchequer.

Talking about the ‘cable mafia’, the PPCC president said a proper system would be set up under which multiple operators would be given equal opportunity to end the monopoly of cable operators. “Fee (carriage) would be levied on the operators for using government infrastructure,” he said.

Similarly, to improve and upgrade the state transport system, permits would also be given for short routes for better government transport facilities at the village level, Sidhu said.