Rampura Phul (Bathinda), October 11:
Slamming the opposition parties for misleading propaganda against the state government, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday said that the leaders of the opposition just want to attain power for their vested interests and settling their scores rather than serving the people.
Addressing the gathering after dedicating Railway Over Bridge (ROB) here today, the Chief Minister said that the opposition leaders are eagerly waiting for returning to power in the hope of teaching me a lesson for my several pro-people initiatives rather than serving the state. He said that these leaders have no vision for the state or its people but they just want to attain the power for muzzling the voice of the common man. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that these leaders have plundered the wealth of the state for their vested political interests due to which people had ousted him.
The Chief Minister said that the traditional political parties are envious of him because they are not able to digest that the son of a common man is governing the state effectively. He said that the people of the state have lost their faith in the traditional political parties because of their anti-people and anti-Punjab stance. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the people of the state will forgive these parties who have ruined the state or used the tanks to attack Sri Harmandir Sahib.
The Chief Minister said that these people have only ‘one way’ pockets as they can acquire the money through illegal means rather than giving it to the people. He said that the former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has distributed the money of ‘Golaks’ to the people rather than from his own business of Dabwali transport or Sukh Vilas. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that people are well versed in their dubious character and even identify the money notes being distributed by him as it was their hard earned money only.
Taking a dig over Sukhbir’s claim of being a farmer, the Chief Minister said that the Akali leader should tell the secret how a flourishing transport business and hotels can be constructed from a chunk of land. He said that everyone knows that the Akalis had mercilessly plundered the wealth of the state due to which all these businesses have been set. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that moreover these people patronized the chitta trade in the state which led to the genocide of generations of the state.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the state government will adopt no leniency towards the ‘Jarnails’ who were the perpetrators behind the genocide of youth through the curse of drugs. He said that those leaders who had patronized the drug trade have already been put behind bars adding these leaders not only used to patronize drug trade across the state but ironically they even sold/ supplied the drugs in their official government vehicles. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that in the past no one had previously dared to arrest these affluent leaders, but now his government has done so and they will have to pay the price for their sins.
The Chief Minister said that, surprisingly, when this Akali leader was arrested, the unholy nexus between the political parties was exposed as they cried for human rights violations and demanded special cells and facilities for the accused. He said that several ace leaders were produced by this region but they were never bothered about the development of this area adding that they were focused only about the well being of their families and never had intent for such projects. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that contrary to them the state government headed by him is taking every decision for the welfare of the common man.
The Chief Minister said that the state government has started work to construct more than 19,000 kilometre link roads in the state adding that the main motive of the campaign is to facilitate the people as these Link Roads act as a catalyst in commuting and smooth transportation of the goods and services to people. He said that these link roads are the arteries of economic growth in the state as they help the people residing in rural areas to commute on one hand and give impetus to trade and business on the other. Bhagwant Singh Mann asked the Punjab Mandi Board and PWD to ensure high quality of the work besides ensuring that every penny allocated for that project was invested in a justified manner.
The Chief Minister said that it is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that Rs 5000 crore is being spent on the project to make the state ‘Power Cut’ Free’. He said that this marks a dawn of a new era as a historic initiative has been introduced in Punjab’s power sector by the state government. Bhagwant Singh Mann that this project has been launched to make Punjab free from power cuts through the complete transformation of the Transmission and Distribution network.
The Chief Minister further said that the state government has set up Schools of Eminence across the state to impart quality education to the students as a result of which 265 students from these and other government schools have qualified for the JEE Mains exam. Likewise, he said that 44 students have cleared JEE Advanced and 848 students have qualified for NEET. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics have been opened in the last three years, and this number will soon cross 1,000 adding that so far these clinics have provided free medicine to 1.75 crore people.
The Chief Minister categorically said that such functions never used to take place during the previous regimes as the state government wanted to keep the people in the dark. He said that the state government has given government jobs to more than 55,000 eligible youth completely on the basis of merit. Likewise, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that Sadak Surakhya Force has been constituted by the state government due to which casualties in road accidents have witnessed a dip by 48% and the initiative has been hailed by the Government of India too.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that today will be remembered as a historic day for the people of the neighboring districts, especially those from the Malwa region, because the railway overbridge built at a cost of over Rs 63.55 crore has been dedicated to the public. He said that this 1,130 meters long will give huge reprieve to people as before construction of this bridge, people often faced great inconvenience due to the frequent closure of the railway crossing. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that with the construction of this bridge, transportation will become easier, and it will also help save people’s time, money and energy.
Likewise, the Chief Minister said that school students will get relief from daily hassles as they will now be able to reach their schools on time. He said that the people of this area had been demanding this ROB for many years adding that the construction of this bridge will not only benefit the residents of Bathinda and nearby districts, but also provide major convenience to people from other districts. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this bridge will usher in a new era of economic progress by connecting the two parts of Rampura city with Patiala Mandi and Nabha Mandi.
