IEP New Delhi/ Chandigarh, July 27

 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday slammed the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for muzzling the voice of opposition and promoting politics of hate in the country. The Chief Minister, who joined the protesting opposition MPs against the suspension of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, said that unfortunately the ruling alliance don’t allow the MPs to raise the issue of public concern. However, he said that if exercising his democratic right any MP comes in the well of the house, he is unlawfully suspended, which is very shameful. Bhagwant Mann said that this dictatorial way of suppressing the voice of elected representatives of the people that too in this ‘temple of democracy’ is unwarranted and undesirable.      The Chief Minister said that silencing the opposition for political gains is not a new thing in this dictatorial regime. He said that in the last nine years the opposition has been completely ignored by the ruling alliance by using various tools. Bhagwant Mann said that the bills are passed in ruckus created in the august house without even bothering to get the consent of all the members adding that this is a blot of the entire democracy. The Chief Minister said that all the MPs having conscience are with Sanjay Singh and are staging a protest here today. He said that the Prime Minister loves to talk in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ but he is never ready to listen to what the people of the country have to say. Bhagwant Mann said that the wise and democracy loving people of the country will never accept this and will teach a befitting lesson to the BJP and its allies for this sin. The Chief Minister said that Modi and company are jeopardising the democracy in the country. He said that if the country is to be run by 30 people including Prime Minister, Home Minister and their 28 Governors then why should huge money be wasted on conducting elections. Bhagwant Mann said that this is a dangerous trend in the democracy which needs to be checked immediately. The Chief Minister said that the shameful incident at Manipur is the result of divisive and hatred policy being pursued by the BJP. He said that this is not in the interest of the country and its people as the repercussions of this policy will be tragic. Bhagwant Mann demanded that President rule should be immediately imposed in Manipur for the total collapse of the law and order situation. The Chief Minister said that what Governor was doing in Manipur when the law and order situation had completely deteriorated. He said that the Governors in other states especially those ruled by non-BJP states were peeping into the daily affairs of the states and not allowing the elected governments to work. However, Bhagwant Mann said that the Governor of Manipur was just a mute spectator to the series of horrendous events unfolding in the state.    The Chief Minister urged the President of India to take suo motto cognizance of the unfortunate and barbaric incidents taking place in Manipur and impose President’s rule in the state. He said that it is unfortunate that when Manipur was burning, the Prime Minister of the country was enjoying his foreign trip in the other countries. Bhagwant Mann said that this reflects the insensitiveness of the Modi government in dealing with this crisis.   The Chief Minister said that the Union government has lost confidence amongst people and they will teach Modi and company a lesson in the general elections slated to be held in 2024. Taking a jibe over the leakage in the newly constructed building of Parliament house, he said that the old building of Parliament constructed over a century ago is still intact whereas the roof of the new building has leaked which reflects the sorry state of affairs in the country. Bhagwant Mann said that this indicates that the Modi government is hand in glove with the corrupt elements

IEP Chandigarh, July 27

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday assailed the former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and said that he was fully aware of the theatricals, couplets and self proclaimed honesty of the BJP leader.          In a statement, the Chief Minister said that entire Punjab is well aware of misdeeds of the former Minister. He said that Manpreet Badal who had remained Finance Minister of state for fairly long period is hand in glove with the elements who ruined the state. Bhagwant Mann said that the coffers of state were empty for welfare of people during his stint but the brazen loot of public money was allowed.          The Chief Minister said that the Finances of the state were used as per the whims and fancies of the former Minister without bothering about the well being of masses. Bhagwant Mann categorically said that he is well aware of the tantrums of former Minister to drive his own vehicle and pay the toll tax whereas the reality was far away from this. He said that the state government has full record pertaining to every fruit produced in the lavish Orchards of the former Minister.   

IEP Chandigarh, July 26

A day after finding irregularities in conducting dope test for issuance and renewal of Arms Licenses in the state, Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Tuesday recommended slew of steps to ensure no arms license should be issued to any in-eligible person or substance user in order to prevent misuse of weapons.An official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau said that the teams of VB, during the statewide surprise checking of government hospitals on Tuesday, found some irregularities and loopholes including photograph of the candidate was not found affixed on the DOPE tests register and paging of the DOPE tests register was not done. Even, the DOPE test report was given manually, which should not be given to the person concerned manually.After finding these malpractices in the process, he said that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau will write to the higher authorities to make the dope test mechanism more robust so that sanctity for the same is upheld. The VB suggested that a copy of DOPE test report must be kept in record of the concerned hospital, and doctors and technicians should be deployed on rotation for DOPE testing so that there is no intervention of any agent.The VB also suggested that the Register regarding daily DOPE tests should be checked and countersigned by senior officials on a regular basis. Frisking should be done outside the toilet before sending the person for a urine sample and the frisking process should be videographed. The process of DOPE testing should be made online. Bathrooms for collection of samples should also be close to the laboratory. Separate registers should be maintained for DOPE tests for arms licenses, new recruitments and jail inmates. Only regular government employees should be deputed to maintain DOPE test registers so that responsibility can be fixed in case of negligence.

IEP Chandigarh, July 26

 Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann led government has decided to implement a new scheme of giving a reward of Rs.5000 to those Good Samaritans who help in saving the lives of victims of road accidents. Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar and Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh took this decision during Punjab State Road Safety Council meeting, held here at Punjab Bhawan. Under this scheme, the individual, who saved the life of a road accident victim, will be given a “Good Samaritan certificate” by the doctors or police, which will enable him to claim the amount though the Deputy Commissioner office. Punjab State Road Safety Council Chairman S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that this scheme will motivate people to actively help road accident victims. The basic aim of the scheme is to motivate the general public through cash awards and certificates in order to help road accident victims in emergency situations and to boost their morale and to save lives of road accident victims, he added. During the meeting, the “Traffic Management Plan” worth Rs.2.56 crores was approved for Amritsar, the second largest tourist attraction in the country. With this amount, procurement of ambulances and recovery vans and other related facilities would be done besides the setting up of “Road Safety and Accident Response Units”. Cabinet ministers highlighted that with the implementation of this project, the traffic congestion problem in Amritsar city will be alleviated and the city will become more beautiful on a global map. S. Laljit Singh Bhullar informed that Rs.4 crore has been allocated to the Deputy Commissioners of the state under the first phase for the “District Road Safety Committees.” He said that larger districts will get Rs.20 lakh each, while the smaller districts will get Rs.15 lakh each for implementing road safety and traffic management measures. This amount will be utilized by the Deputy Commissioners for undertaking various road safety and traffic management measures and also for awareness campaigns. Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh informed that five trauma care centers in the state will be equipped with new machines to provide prompt medical care to the road accident victims as the gap analysis of the equipment has already been done. He mentioned that three out of ten lives can be saved with dedicated institutions and modern emergency facilities, hence the five trauma care centers at Khanna, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Ferozepur and Fazilka would be strengthened. He said that recruitment process for dedicated staff in these centers is under process. Both the ministers instructed the officials of the transport department to ensure First Aid Kit in government vehicles, besides first aid training to the government drivers for providing timely assistance to the people in need during emergency situations. They also asked to keep a dedicated lane at toll plazas for ambulance passage during traffic congestion. Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar further revealed that 500 e-challaning machines have been provided to the Traffic Police for speeding up the process of issuing challans and 2500 more such machines will be given soon. He informed that challaning through CCTV cameras in Mohali will begin from this December. He said that all the black spots identified during the year 2019-22, have been removed, while the work of rectification of new 277 black spots is going on a war footing.Prominent amongst those who were present in the meeting included Secretary Transport S. Dilraj Singh Sandhawalia, Director General Lead Agency Mr. R. Venkat Ratnam, ADGP (Traffic) Mr. A.S. Rai, Secretary Expenditure Mr. Mohammad Tayyab, Punjab Health Systems Corporation MD Mr. Pardeep Aggarwal, State Health Agency CEO Ms. Babita and officials of NHAI, PWD, Health and Family Welfare and Punjab Mandi Board. 

IEP CHANDIGARH/SRI MUKTSAR SAHIB, July 26        

    The ongoing fight against drugs launched by the Punjab Police on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has started yielding results as residents of two notorious areas in district Sri Muktsar Sahib including village Midda and Mohalla Chhajghar of Malout took a pledge to stay away from drugs. Both areas were infamous for smuggling and use of various types of narcotics including heroin, intoxicant tablets, etc.The development came amidst the series of Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) focused on drug trafficking, anti-social elements and criminals being conducted by the Punjab Police to make Punjab a drug-free and crime-free state.On Day-3, the CASO was conducted in all three districts of Faridkot Range including Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.The Muktsar Police conducted the CASO early in the morning from 5 am to 12 noon, on the other side, Faridkot and Moga Police carried out raids in the daytime. The entire operation was conducted under the overall supervision of DIG Faridkot Range Ajay Maluja and SSPs were directed to plan this operation amid the massive deployment of the Police Force.Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla said that the Police teams have arrested 79 anti-social elements after registering 66 first information reports (FIRs) during the operation. The Police teams have also recovered Rs 68,500 of drug money, 128 grams of heroin, 115 kg poppy husk, 2560 intoxicant tablets and a huge quantity of illicit liquor and Lahan (Raw material used to make liquor) from their possession, he added.He said that, apart from this, the Police teams have also arrested three Proclaimed offenders (POs) and rounded up 293 suspicious persons for questioning.The Special DGP said that the strong force of 1100+ Police personnel under the supervision of SSP Faridkot Harjit Singh, SSP Sri Muktsar Sahib Harmanbir Singh Gill and SSP Moga J Elanchezian carried out CASO in drug hotspots identified in their respective districts.Meanwhile, Punjab Police will continue such operations in the coming days to completely root out the menace of drugs from the state to transform it into the ‘Rangla Punjab’.

IEP Chandigarh, July 26

The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is continuously working to protect the interests of the Scheduled Castes in the state. Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur stated that the fake Scheduled Caste certificates of Mr. Balwinder Kumar, son of Mr. Chaman Lal, resident of Mamdot, District Ferozepur and Mrs. Jasvir Kaur daughter of Mr. Kehar Singh, Hindi Mistress, Government Middle School Jandpur District SAS Nagar had been rejected by the State Level Scrutiny Committee constituted by the Government level.          Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said that Mr. Jasbir Singh Pamali Member Core Committee of Sri Guru Ravidass Federation, Village Pamali, District Ludhiana had lodged a complaint with the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission, alleging that Balwinder Kumar a resident of District Ferozepur Mamdot had forged a fake Scheduled Caste certificate. Based on this, he secured a B.Sc (Agriculture) degree and secured  job at Guru Angad Dev University of Veterinary Sciences, Ludhiana.          Additionally, Balvir Singh, son of Mr. Nirmal Singh, Village Alampur, PO Kauli, Tehsil and District Patiala, had lodged a complaint with the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission. The complaint stated that Mrs. Jasvir Kaur, the Hindi Mistress of Government Middle School, Village Jandpur, District SAS Nagar, had obtained a Scheduled Caste certificate despite belonging to the Jat Sikh caste.          The Minister further informed that the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission had forwarded these complaints to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for investigation. She said that after considering the report from the Vigilance Cell by the State Level Scrutiny Committee, it has been confirmed that the Scheduled Caste certificates of Mr. Balwinder Kumar and Mrs. Jasvir Kaur was indeed fake, and they have decided to cancel them.          The Minister stated that the department has written to the Deputy Commissioner of Ferozepur, regarding the Scheduled Caste Certificate No. 471 dated 14.01.1993 of Mr. Balwinder Kumar and the Deputy Commissioner of SAS Nagar, regarding the Scheduled Caste Certificate No. 151 of Mrs. Jasvir Kaur dated 20.07.1990 and called for cancellation and confiscation of their certificates. 

IEP Amritsar, July 26

As a mark of respect to the brave soldiers of the country, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced to start ex-gratia grant for the Armed forces personnel in cases of physical casualty during service along with doubling the ex-gratia of physically disabled soldiers and hiking the financial assistance of non pensioner ex-servicemen of World War I and II.

 The Chief Minister led the state in paying homage to Kargil Martyrs, who laid down their lives for safeguarding the borders of the country, in a function to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas  here at Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and museum.

 Addressing the gathering after paying homage to the war heroes, the Chief Minister said that recognizing the immense contribution of soldiers, the state government has now decided to start ex-gratia worth Rs 25 lakh to Physical Casualty cases in the Armed forces. He said that, earlier, there was no such provision but his government has taken this initiative as these valiant warriors also sacrifice their lives during call of duty. Likewise, Bhagwant Mann said that ex-gratia for the physically disabled soldiers have also been enhanced by the state government.

 The Chief Minister said that soldiers with 76% to 100% disability will now get Rs 40 lakh ex-gratia instead of Rs 20 lakh, soldiers with 51%-75% disability will now get Rs 20 lakh instead of existing Rs 10 lakh and those with 25% -50% disability will now get Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia instead of Rs 5 lakh. Likewise, he said that the monthly financial assistance of non pensioner ex-servicemen of World War I and II or their widows has been enhanced from existing Rs 6000 to Rs 10000. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is duty bound to secure the interests of these brave soldiers who had served the country selflessly.

 The Chief Minister further said that this is an emotive function and the entire country feels proud of the supreme sacrifice made by these valiant sons. He said that the soldiers perform their duty despite the vagaries of weather to ensure that the borders of the country are safeguarded. Bhagwant Mann said that the countrymen will ever remain indebted to these national heroes for their bravery and selfless service to the nation.  

 The Chief Minister said that after assuming the charge of office his government has decided to give Rs 1 crore to the distressed families as a mark of respect for the supreme sacrifice made by these heroes for the country. He said that this humble initiative of the state government is in recognition of the immense contribution of these sons of soil towards preserving the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country. Bhagwant Mann said that financial assistance to these families of martyrs is in consonance with the commitment of the state government to ensure the well being of the soldiers and their families.

 The Chief Minister recalled that during the Kargil War he was an artist and to express solidarity with these national heroes they had organized a charity show. He said that the charity show was held at Patiala in which a number of other artists also took part. Bhagwant Mann said that all the collections from the show were handed over to the Army authorities as a token of gratitude towards their heroic deeds.

 The Chief Minister said that as a colony of the British Empire, our country had suffered a lot but the brave and determined heroes of our freedom struggle made enormous sacrifices to remove the shackles of foreign imperialism. He said that it is on record that more than 90% of the great patriots who laid down their lives or were subjected to British tyranny in one form or other were Punjabis. Bhagwant Mann said that a string of gems like Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and several others, shed their blood to achieve freedom for us.

IEP Chandigarh, July 26

 In view of the loss of the residents of the state due to floods caused by unseasonal rains in Punjab, the Headmaster Association Punjab, with the support of the entire cadre, under the leadership of the state president Kulwinder Kataria, presented a check of five lakhs to the Minister of School Education Harjot Singh Bains for the ‘Chief Minister Punjab Relief Fund’.For this initiative, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains  appreciated the noble efforts of Headmasters Association Punjab.  On this occasion, MLA Bhador Mr. Labh Singh Ugoke, Headmasters Association Punjab General Secretary Jaswinder Singh Bhullar, Gurdas Singh Sekhon, Amarjit Singh, Jagjit Singh, Headmaster Maninder Singh District President Bathinda, Headmaster Harmesh Kataria Bathinda, State Committee Member Headmaster Navdeep Singh Batala were present. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 26 

Taking a giant leap forward to fulfill another promise, the Punjab Government is going to regularize the services of Education Providers, I.E, EGS, STR, AIE and Special Inclusive Teachers, who were working on contract in School Education Department since a decade.Disclosing this here, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that a special event would be held on 28th, July at Chandigarh and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be the Guest of Honour on that occasion. He said that the Chief Minister will hand over Service Regularization Letters to these 12,500 contractual teachers and the event will simultaneously replicated at school level throughout the state.The Cabinet Minister further said that our government had promised to regularize the services of employees including teachers, which is now going to fulfill. He informed that special programs will be organised at each & every school, which would be attended by Principals, Members of School Committees, and representatives of Panchayats & Urban organizations along with education officials besides MLAs to appreciate the services rendered by these teachers.While extending congratulations to these teachers, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains said that the Punjab Government led by Bhagwant Mann is fulfilling every promise made with the people of the state. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 26 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of the noted Punjabi singer Surinder Shinda, who passed away on Wednesday at a private hospital in Ludhiana, after a prolonged illness. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister described Surinder Shinda as a ‘legendary Punjabi singer, who regaled the millions of Punjabi music lovers with his melodious voice. He said that Surinder Shinda’s death has created a void in the arena of Punjabi music industry, which will be difficult to be filled in the near future. Bhagwant Mann said that the renowned Punjabi singer will be ever remembered through his enchanting songs amongst his fans adding that he was a versatile singer who was instrumental in giving a new dimension to Punjabi music industry.  Sharing his heart-felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give them courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss and grant peace to the departed soul.