Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday alleged that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress, which ruled the state alternatively for several decades, “fooled people” in the name of religion.
Addressing a rally at Chandbaja village here, he said both parties had made a false promise of getting people their rightful share of river waters from neighbouring states.
Using local idioms, CM Mann mocked his political rivals, particularly SAD president Sukhbir Badal and former Cabinet minister Bikram Majithia.
He also took a dig at the alleged “dark past” of Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa. He said these leaders knew nothing about the difficulties that a common man faced because they all “lived like aristocrats”.
Taking a dig at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandkak Committee (SGPC), he said instead of delivering truth as an independent custodians of the Sikh faith, the Jathedars were speaking as the voice of Akali politicians.
Mann said residents of his native village had repeatedly written to successive Akali and Congress governments over three decades seeking a bridge over a drain. “No one did anything,” he said, saying that he got it built in 2014 after being elected as a Member of Parliament. Mann also promised farmers uninterrupted daytime power supply.
Meanwhile, the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Sidhupur) strongly condemned the Chief Minister for allegedly converting Chandbaja village into a police cantonment ahead of the programme.
Union’s district president Bohar Singh Rupianwala and other leaders were detained to prevent them from entering the venue.
The union had intended to raise with the CM the issue of compensation for farmers whose property was damaged at the Shambhu-Khanauri border points, where farmers had held a year-long stir over the demand for a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops.
They also intended to seek the martyr status for Shubhkaran Singh, who had allegedly died of a bullet wound during the stir at the Khanauri border point of the state two years ago.
CM dedicates 500 village gymnasiums to people
Faridkot: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday dedicated 500 modern gyms in villages to people, describing the initiative as a key pillar of the ongoing “Yudh Nashean Virudh” campaign.
Backed by a record sports budget of Rs 1,791 crore, the state government has targeted to establish 3,000 modern gyms in villages at a cost of nearly Rs 200 crore.
“The government is also constructing 3,100 sports grounds across Punjab, of which 250 have already been handed over,” said the Punjab Chief Minister.
Mann also announced a drive to rejuvenate village ponds, with treated water to be channelled for agricultural use, reducing dependence on groundwater.
Referring to his government’s Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana, the CM said women aged 18 or above would receive Rs 1,000 per month from July 1.
Those from the Scheduled Castes category will get Rs 1,500 per month under the plan. Nearly 97 per cent of Punjab’s women are expected to benefit from the scheme, for which Rs 9,300 crore has been earmarked.
