Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann‘s demand to “stop brain drain” and a “plan to attract foreigners to apply for jobs” in the state was met with criticism on Saturday, with the Congress’s Sukhpal Singh Khaira insisting that “set our house in order first.” Mann, who took the oath of office last month following the AAP’s spectacular victory, has been attempting to introduce fresh plans in the state after pledging a shift during the election campaign.

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At an event, the 48-year-old chief minister spoke about a big number of students spending large sums of money to pursue a career abroad. “This time also, there is a possibility of three and a half lakh children going abroad. Not only the child goes abroad, that’s Rs 15 lakh per person per head. We have to trust that we can fix this and I am giving you that assurance.”

“You’ve to stay here and serve the country. We have to stop ‘brain drain’. Give us a chance. We are planning in such a way that Britishers will come here for jobs,” Mann says in a video he released on Twitter.

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Sukhpal Singh Khaira of the Congress, on the other hand, chastised the chief minister for his remarks. “I really hope foreigners approach PB for jobs but before that, we have to set our house in order! Ensure job opportunities for youth, maintain law & order, end corruption, depoliticize police & civil machinery, stop indebted farmers & laborers from committing suicides & a just rule (sic),” Khaira stated in a tweet.

The Congress was booted out of office last month despite having appointed a Dalit chief minister months before the election in a state where the caste accounts for about one-third of the population.

The party has been chastised for widespread infighting. In a move aimed at reorganising the Punjab branch, the Congress appointed Amarinder Singh Raja as Punjab Pradesh Congress head on Saturday.

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Khaira, though, has not been deterred from criticising Mann despite the party’s internal problems. “Its big humiliation for @BhagwantMann if the Governor is to take stock of security of border districts! This is surrendering Punjab’s rights to an appointed agent of Center! @BhagwantMann should immediately clarify his position on this latest attack on our autonomy-khaira,” he repeated it again on Saturday in a tweet.

In another comment, he went on the offensive against illegal mining in the state.