Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today dismissed reports of growing differences between him and the state Congress president Sunil Jakhar as "media creation" and nothing else.
The chief minister, who was here to flag-off a fleet of nine ambulances procured by Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni under the MPLADS fund, said there was absolutely no problems between him and the Gurdaspur MP.
"The small incident where Jakhar had left without meeting me -- as he had to go somewhere else -- was blown out of proportion by the media," Singh said during an informal chat with media persons at the event.
On Wednesday, Jakhar had left the CM's office in a huff after he was reportedly asked by the security staff to leave his mobile phone outside.
The chief minister here also ruled out any question of asking Sidhu, the Tourism, Culture and Local Government minister, to quit over the Supreme Court proceedings in the 30-year-old road rage case against him.
Saying the situation did not warrant Sidhu's resignation, he lambasted the Akalis for seeking Sidhu's resignation, and asked them to keep out of it.
Importantly, the state government in the Supreme Court had favoured the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict convicting and awarding a three-year jail term to Sidhu in the 1988 case.
When asked about the last week clash in Phagwara between two groups over the installation of a board and renaming of a chowk , the chief minister said the situation was completely under control now.
"While some of the culprits responsible for the violence that took place on Ambedkar Jayanti were already in custody, the others would also be arrested soon," he said, while asserting that his government would not allow anyone to disturb the state's peace and communal harmony.
"Strict action would be taken against those trying to trigger any kind of disturbance in the state," he added.
Notably, the incident took place when members of a group allegedly installed a board carrying a picture of Ambedkar at Gol Chowk in Phagwara on National Highway (NH)-1 and tried to rename it as 'Savidhan Chowk'.
Earlier, speaking at the flag-off event Congress leader Ambika Soni described the ambulances as her humble contribution towards the chief minister's mission to provide the best health and medical services to the people at affordable cost.
On this, the chief minister too lauded Soni's initiative in procuring these ambulances and urged other members of the parliament to follow suit.
While three ambulances will cater to the needs of the people of Rupnagar, two have been earmarked for Mohali, three for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and one for Hoshiarpur.
During the event, Singh also talked about the state government's other initiatives taken to upgrade the health services in Mohali, a place highly touted as region's major industrial and IT hub.
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