Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday once again made it clear that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s priority is Punjab and its people, while the Congress, BJP and Akali Dal remained locked in a fight for the chair. During the Lok Milni programme at Jindwari village in Sri Anandpur Sahib, he asserted that canal water had now reached 80% of Punjab’s fields, against just 22% before the AAP government, and vowed to take it to 100%.
The Chief Minister also declared that Punjab needs to stay away from the BJP and Akali Dal to safeguard its water, Chandigarh and Panjab University. He highlighted the government’s 14,000-kilometre canal-water pipeline network, free electricity, merit-based jobs and quality education, saying the government was working to build a happy and prosperous ‘Rangla Punjab’.
Sharing a few snippets from this Lok Milni, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann stated: “Shared heartfelt thoughts with the people at Jindwari village in Sri Anandpur Sahib. The traditional parties have always practised politics of the chair and family rule, but our government is working for the common people. We have provided jobs to the youth on merit, excellent education, 14,000 KM of pipelines to take canal water to the fields, and free electricity. To accelerate village development, we also handed over cheques of ₹20 lakh each to six panchayats. Our sole aim is to create a happy and prosperous ‘Rangla Punjab’. Inquilab Zindabad.”
Addressing the gathering during Lok Milni, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “In the last more than 4.5 years of our government, we have worked wholeheartedly for the well-being of the people of the state and the progress of Punjab. On the other hand, opposition parties have always plundered the state mercilessly and exploited the people by looting their resources. These people deserve no mercy and should be taught a lesson by the masses for their sins.”
He said, “Till a few days back, Akali leader Sukhbir Badal was up in arms against the BJP, but now they are on their knees for forging an alliance with the saffron party to get power in the state. Their only motive is to ruin the state by attaining power without any ideological commitment, which will be very fatal for Punjab. These people are opportunists who hardly have any commitment with the state. I appeal to the people to never get swayed away with the misleading tactics of these parties who have no concern for Punjab.”
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “These parties have a dubious track record of working against the state and its people and they can never be forgiven. BJP is suffering from an anti-Punjab mindset and it has always treated Punjab unfairly, whether it is the issue of Panjab University, Chandigarh, Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the Harike canal, Republic Day tableaux, Rural Development Fund (RDF) funds or border area funds.”
“The hands of BJP are drenched with the murder of more than 700 farmers of Punjab, who attained martyrdom during the protest against the draconian farmers’ laws,” he added.
The Chief Minister stated, “AAP is spreading its wings across the country due to its pro-people and development-oriented policies. The gains of the party in local government elections in Rajasthan are a testimony to it. The traditional parties have always befooled the common man with their baseless and divisive tactics. Gone are the days when these parties used to play musical chairs and wait for their turn of power.”
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Actually, these parties safeguarded the interests of each other during their days in power, due to which their misdeeds were never exposed. Today, people are electing AAP and the symbol of this party, jhaadu, is cleansing the political system of the state and the country. No stone will be left unturned for it.”
Coming down heavily on the Akali Dal, the Chief Minister said, “During their long misrule, the Akalis committed the sin of beadbi of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, shielded the perpetrators of this heinous crime and allowed firing on innocent people. The Akalis have plundered the state mercilessly besides bruising the psyche of Punjabis emotionally and patronising several mafias in the state. Every vote to Akalis will be a mandate in favour of beadbi.”
He said, “The Akali leadership can never be forgiven as it was responsible for the genocide of several generations of the state, as drug trade was patronised by them and bloomed during their long era of misrule. People will not get swayed away with the misleading tantrums of these parties and will teach them a befitting lesson in the coming days.”
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “They have mercilessly plundered the wealth of the state during their days in power and have introduced drugs to the youth of Punjab.”
Lashing out at Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal, he said, “Sukhbir Badal is not aware about the ground realities as throughout his life he has lived in a secured environment with luxuries and opulence. Sukhbir Badal is a convent-educated political leader of Punjab who is not aware of the basic topography of the state but wants to attain political power in Punjab. Leaving everything aside, the former Deputy Chief Minister cannot even differentiate the basic crops of the state as he has scant knowledge about the basic issues.”
The Chief Minister affirmed, “I have put my sweat and toil into ensuring unsurpassed development of the state and with every passing day we are taking several new pro-people initiatives to uplift the standard of living of the people. Unlike my predecessors, I have never sought even a single penny from the public exchequer; rather, I have ensured that every single rupee of the taxpayers is spent judiciously for public welfare.”
He said, “Being their son and brother, I have keenly focused on sharing the agonies and hardships faced by the people rather than living a life of opulence like my predecessors. None of the earlier rulers had come to people in such a manner to have a thorough conversation about their hardships and resolve them with missionary zeal.”
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Those haughty politicians have always confined themselves within the high walls of their big residences rather than meeting the people and are now baffled over every move of the state government. On the contrary, I have always been in the field to take feedback from the people for framing development-oriented and citizen-centric policies, thereby giving a major boost to the development of the state.”
The Chief Minister said, “The AAP government is optimally utilising every single penny of the state exchequer for the well-being of the people of the state. More than 90% households in the state are getting free power. Even the farmers are today getting power in the daytime, which has been unprecedented.”
He said, “The tax money of people belongs to the state and we are judiciously spending it on the welfare of people. People’s money is coming back to people through development, schools, hospitals and roads.”
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “The Punjab government is working for people and has provided free electricity to households, jobs to over 70,000 youth without corruption, improved roads, imparted quality education and healthcare, built infrastructure besides several other key initiatives which were ignored by my predecessors.”
He said, “To wean away the youth from the menace of drugs, 3,100 sports stadiums are being constructed in the state. We have prioritised education and taken path-breaking initiatives in the education sector to transform the lives of people.”
The Chief Minister said, “No freebie or concession cards can eliminate poverty or other social maladies in the state, but education is the key that can pull people out of this vicious circle by raising their standard of living. Due to this, our government is tirelessly making efforts to improve the standard of education to empower the common man.”
He said, “45,000 kilometres of roads are being renovated and upgraded for facilitating the residents of the state.”
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “After I assumed charge, the area under canal irrigation has increased from 26% to 80%, which has immensely benefited the farmers.”
The Chief Minister said, “In order to provide comprehensive healthcare to people, the state government has launched Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna, the first-of-its-kind scheme in the country that provides cashless medical treatment up to ₹10 lakh for every resident family in Punjab. It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that Punjab is the first Indian state to offer such comprehensive healthcare coverage, which has significantly eased the financial burden on the public while ensuring quality health services.”
The Chief Minister further said, “Under the Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna, from July 1, every woman beneficiary above the age of 18 years is getting notifications on their mobile about financial assistance worth ₹1,000 and ₹1,500 in case of SC women. The funds will be directly transferred to bank accounts and women already receiving social security pensions will also be eligible. 97% of women in Punjab are benefited from the scheme and the state government has allotted ₹9,300 crore in the budget.”
On the occasion, Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains, Lok Sabha MP Malwinder Singh Kang and others were also present.
