Chandigarh: Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has said he was available 24x7 on his mobile phone, but he had not yet received any call from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann or his personal staff. Channi, who is Canada, said, “It was wrong on Mann’s part to say that I am not available. I am currently getting treatment for my eyes and will be back soon. I am also pursuing my PhD thesis and will be back soon to submit the same.”
Channi said all decisions were in black and white, and Mann could call him anytime he wanted. Bhagwant Mann, while speaking in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday, had sought to know where his predecessor Charanjit Singh Channi was and that he wanted to know about the many “anti-people” decisions the former Chief Minister had taken towards the end of his term.
“Show your CM candidate (Channi)," Mann had taunted the Congress. “After we came (formed the government), I got the files and saw that some decisions were taken during the near end of the (Congress) term... I want to ask Channi where he is? Where has he gone after the polls? I want to ask him about the many files which he signed in the last days of his government," said the Chief Minister.
“You cannot meet for the transfer of power? Why did he run away? Some people say he is in Canada and some say he is in America. Channi should have stayed here. It means he must have done something wrong," Mann had claimed.
"I want to ask him about the many files (which Channi signed). There are many decisions which were anti-people," he added.
In September 2021, Channi had succeeded Capt Amarinder Singh as the Chief Minister of Punjab following the veteran leader's unceremonious exit. Speaking in the Assembly after moving the confidence motion, Mann, citing sources, said Channi may have either moved to the US or Canada and that he would have stayed back if he had run a “clean government”.