Chandigarh, 26 September (H.S.): Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Saturday accused the Bhagwant Mann-led government of taking credit for a centrally funded rural development scheme and spending public money on advertisements carrying the Chief Minister’s photograph.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Jakhar referred to advertisements regarding a ₹750-crore scheme for villages with significant Scheduled Caste populations. He alleged that the initiative was being projected as an achievement of the Punjab government, while the funding was linked to the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY).

Jakhar claimed that the scheme was fully funded by the Union government and alleged that the state government had not made a financial contribution towards it. The Union government’s Social Justice Ministry describes PMAGY as a centrally sponsored scheme for the integrated development of Scheduled Caste-majority villages, with central assistance provided for identified development gaps.

According to Jakhar, 3,763 villages in Punjab had been identified under the scheme and funds had already been released for 1,200 villages. He demanded that the Punjab government clarify the use and distribution of the funds and apologise if the advertisements had incorrectly claimed credit for the Centre-funded initiative.

Jakhar also criticised the state government over its Mawan Dhian Satkar Yojana, saying that families affected by drug-related deaths were seeking justice for their sons and brothers. He questioned the government’s approach towards such families and criticised the financial assistance announced under the scheme.

On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Jakhar questioned the objections raised by the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress. He asked why parties or individuals with concerns about deletions were not filing formal objections before the Election Commission.

Jakhar claimed that more than 20,000 voters had been deleted from electoral rolls in his Abohar area but alleged that neither AAP nor Congress had filed objections there. He cited figures of 2,066,635 deleted names across Punjab and said these included voters reported dead, permanently shifted, absent or listed as duplicates.

He urged voters who believed their names had been wrongly removed or contained discrepancies to use the prescribed objection and correction process. Jakhar also accused opposition parties of using protests for publicity instead of approaching the Election Commission with individual cases.

The Election Commission’s revision process provides mechanisms for voters to raise objections and seek corrections, while the Centre’s official scheme documents confirm that PMAGY/its successor framework involves central assistance for development of eligible villages.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH