Mann for 13-0; calls Bittu ‘friend’ rumour baseless

LUDHIANA: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday termed as “false and baseless” the rumour spread by “someone” which, he said, was part of a “conspiracy” that Ravneet Bittu is his friend so he will help him win.
He was addressing a roadshow in Sahnewal, which comes in Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha Constituency, for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gurpreet GP.Addressing the gathering, Mann denied the rumour about Bittu and said that “we have not come here to make anyone win”.
“My aim is to win for the AAP by 13-0 in Punjab. Bittu should prepare for fourth or fifth position,” the CM said.
He said that someone has spread this rumour as part of aconspiracy that “Bittu is my friend”, so he will help him win. “This is a false and baseless rumour,” he added.
Mann appealed to the people to make Gurpreet win and said that “seeing your zeal and enthusiasm I am completely sure that Gurpreet GP's victory is certain, only its announcement is pending”.
Mann said that it is your responsibility to “vote for us on June 1 and after that it will be my responsibility to work for you”. Mann said that “we are asking for votes from the people of Punjab on the basis of our work” during the last two years. “Wherever I am going in the state, people are applauding our work. I have given govt jobs to 43,000 youth in the last two years. I made electricity bills of 90 percent of the houses zero. We are giving sufficient electricity to farmers for irrigation during the day without any power cuts,” he said. “Apart from this, we built about 850 mohalla clinics in which people are getting free treatment. We opened Schools of Eminence and improved the condition of govt schools as a result of which 158 students of govt schools cleared JEE-Mains this year,” he said.
He claimed that his is the first govt of Punjab which has done “more work than promised”. “I closed 14 toll plazas, the people of Punjab are saving Rs 60 lakh every day. We have created the Road Safety Force thanks to which the number of deaths in road accidents in Punjab has reduced significantly. The AAP govt has done more work than we promised during the election campaign of 2022,” CM said.