CHANDIGARH: Standing in for Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Punjab's Finance Minister Surinder Singla has strongly condemned a few Members of Parliament belonging to Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) for raising their voice against advertisements put out by the State Government in newspapers.

Though it is Capt. Singh who holds the portfolio of Public Relations, it was Mr. Singla, flanked by the Chief Minister's Media Adviser B.I.S. Chahal, who had been fielded to respond to queries from media persons at a hurriedly convened press conference here on Tuesday. The Secretary and Director of the Public Relations Department were conspicuous by their absence from the event, which was in response to reports that the Akali MPs had petitioned the Election Commission and the Punjab and Haryana High Court for restrictions on the present Government against "squandering public money" on ostensibly "Congress party advertisements".

Mr. Singla said it was the legitimate right of the Government to inform the people about the achievements and development works executed for their welfare across the State. He also justified the comparison between the performance of the present Government and the previous regime. However, he denied that the Government had received any notice, either from the Punjab and Haryana High Court or the Election Commission of India.

In his reaction, Akali Dal general secretary Kanwaljit Singh said that Mr. Singla had characteristically failed even to understand the objections raised which were not against the Government's right to publicise its so-called achievements. "Mr. Singla needs to be reminded that the Government is an ongoing process and no department can indulge in eulogising the present Government while running down the previous Government which it had itself eulogised during the latter's tenure," the senior Akali leader said pointing out that pictures of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had been used in official insertions even though they held no positions in the Punjab or Central governments.

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