Akali & Congress govts deliberately kept Punjab’s children uneducated: CM Bhagwant Singh Mann
MANSA (The Uttam Hindu): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday said that decades of Akali and Congress rule deliberately kept Punjab’s children uneducated while political families thrived, asserting that those parties were never concerned about public progress but only about securing power for their sons, daughters and relatives. Addressing a gathering in Sardulgarh after laying the foundation stone of a Government ITI that will skill 240 students every year, he said the BJP is now banking on defectors from other parties to chase electoral dreams, but Punjab has chosen a different path.
Emphasising that his government is spending every single penny of the state exchequer honestly on the welfare and advancement of the people, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann declared that the AAP government, Punjab is running on a new engine of development, while the engines of the BJP, Akali Dal and Congress have become outdated and incapable of driving the state forward.
Addressing the gathering, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann stated, “Akali Dal is itself a dinosaur which has usurped the state and its people. While the AAP government is making strenuous efforts to prepare Punjabi youth for futuristic needs by making them Doctor and Engineers, Akali Dal is bent upon dragging them back to Dinosaur Era in the state.”
He reminded the people that Dinosaurs eat the human beings, adding that this is favorite animal of Akalis who have usurped Punjab, Punjabis and the hard earned money of people. “People will never elect such people who had ruined the state and had usurped our generations by their atrocious moves,” he said.
Taking a jibe over the Akal Dal’s Punjab Bachao Yatra, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the real name of this gimmick of Akali Dal is ‘Parivar Bachao Yatra’. “I dare the Akali leaders to explain that after looting the state for 15 years, from whom they are trying to save the state from. People had elected Akalis but they proved to be traitors and had always backstabbed the state and its people,” he added.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann reminded people that when the entire farming community was fighting for their rights, the Akalis had supported the Modi government on draconian farm laws just for saving their berth in the Union Ministry.
He said that Akalis had misused the panth for their vested political interests due to which they cannot be forgiven by the people. Taking a jibe over BJP, he said that the saffron party is banking on the deadwood of other parties in hope of winning the elections. “This strategy of the BJP will not work in the state as their engine with worn out spare parts of other machines will not be able to run long,” said CM Bhagwant Singh Mann.
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. “The people of Punjab have lost their faith in the traditional political parties because of their anti-people and anti-Punjab stance,” he added.
He reiterated that the previous rulers were more concerned about their family members rather than Punjab and Punjabis due to which they have been shown the door.
However, the Chief Minister said that after assuming charge of office, he has laid special focus on the progress and prosperity of Punjab, especially this region. He pointed out that previous governments converted schools in the entire state into just Mid Day Meal Centres but now these schools have been transformed into Educational hubs. “The AAP government is working on a mission of boosting education in the state and ensuring the access of quality education to the poor students,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister said that to impart quality education to the youth 118 Schools of Eminence have been set up in the state and teachers have been sent for training in Finland and Singapore, for upscaling their teaching skills. “Congress and Akalis have only a four point agenda, which is to ensure the welfare of themselves, their sons, and their brother-in-laws. As Education is the key for progress, our government has laid due emphasis on development of this sector and in the coming days a person will be called rich not by his wealth but by the education acquired by his children,” said CM Bhagwant Singh Mann.
The Chief Minister said that the Punjab government is judiciously utilizing every single penny of the state exchequer for the well being of the people of the state. “More than 90% households in Punjab are getting free power, even the farmers are today getting power in the daytime which has been unprecedented. At a time when the assets of the country are being given by the Union government to their blue eyed friends at throw away prices, the Punjab government has created history by buying a private thermal plant,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister stated that 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics have been opened in Punjab to provide free healthcare to people adding that quality healthcare facilities are being provided to the people in the government hospitals. “At the time when the state government had assumed the charge of office, only 21% of canal water was being used in the state for irrigation purposes. However, It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that today 68% of the canal water is being used for irrigation purposes,” he added.
The Chief Minister said that as many as 6,900 km long, 18,349 water courses have been revived in Punjab to provide water at tail ends thereby immensely benefitting the farmers. “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,” he affirmed.
The Chief Minister said that this historic move is aimed at providing universal health care to all the families of the state. “More than 63,000 government jobs have been given to the youth of Punjab without any bribe or recommendation due to which every section of society is happy,” he noted.
In a landmark initiative aimed at strengthening food and nutrition security, the state government has launched the ‘Meri Rasoi Yojna’. “Under this scheme 40 lakh families will receive free quarterly food kits starting April, in addition to wheat provided under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The hard working and resilient farmers of Punjab have worked tirelessly to ensure that no one in the country sleeps hungry and our state has always led from the front in feeding the nation. However, there are still some families within Punjab who struggle to manage daily meals,” he said.
The Chief Minister noted, “Under this scheme, the Punjab government will provide food kits to 40 lakh families and each kit will contain two kilograms of lentils, two kilograms of sugar, one kilogram of salt, 200 grams of turmeric powder and one litre of mustard oil for monthly consumption. These food kits will be provided in addition to the wheat already being distributed to eligible beneficiaries under the NFSA. I am thankful to this region, which has always showered a lot of love to me both as an artist and now as a politician.”
The Chief Minister said, “I will always remain indebted to the people of the region for this love. This area was earlier labelled as backward area and even the state used to issue certificates for it, and no focus was laid on the progress of this region. However, the AAP government is working tirelessly to remove this tag by launching a number of development projects. Foundation stone for a Government ITI in village Fatehgarh Sahnewali has been laid to provide skill-oriented training and technical courses to youth.”
The Chief Minister profusely thanked the Fatehgarh Sahnewali panchayat for giving five acres of land free of cost for this project adding that the construction, staff recruitment, infrastructure, and other expenses for the ITI will cost approximately ₹24.50 crore. “This institution with capacity of 240 students will offer training in five trades viz. Electrician, Mechanic Electric Vehicle, Refrigeration & Air Conditioner Technician, Industrial Robotics & Digital Manufacturing Technician, and CNC Machining Technician. With this ITI, rural youth in the area will get the opportunity for skill-based education near their homes,” he added.
Likewise, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that two new Bridges are coming up at a cost of ₹17.31 Crore adding that residents of around 27 villages in Sardulgarh constituency bordering the Ghaggar river, had to travel long detours to cross the river. “To solve this problem, a new bridge is being built at village Bhalluana with a cost of ₹12.03 crore. Similarly, a new steel bridge is being constructed at village Barn at a cost of ₹5.28 crore, which will reduce people’s extra travel by 5-9 km,” he added.
He further said that to provide quality health facilities to residents of Sardulgarh, a Mohalla Clinic is being opened in the city at a cost of ₹39 lakh which will offer 107 types of free medicines and 47 types of free tests. “Likewise, a Health & Wellness Centre will be built at village Bhagwanpur Hinga with a cost of ₹55 lakh. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that next to the Sardulgarh sub-divisional hospital, a Block Public Health Unit will be built at ₹49 lakh, providing laboratory services under one roof, along with a data centre and SMO meeting-cum-conference hall,” he added.
The Chief Minister said that ₹1.25 crore is being spent on Minor Concrete Lining, ₹1 crore is being spent for Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s Charan Chhoh Village Development Projects in two villages and the capacity of the Danewala 66 KV grid has been increased from 12.5 MVA to 20 MVA at a cost of ₹2.33 crore to ensure uninterrupted power supply, especially to the farming community during the paddy season.
Likewise, the Chief Minister said that Mansa-Talwandi Sabo Road is being upgraded at a cost of ₹31.20 Crore, ₹33.07 crore are being spent on construction of new watercourses and ₹12.83 crore is being spent to set up new Grids in Villages Jhanda Kalan, Ullak, and Banawala New. Bhagwant Singh Mann further said that ₹14.76 crore is being spent to lay new sewerage pipelines in Sardulgarh city, which will cover 24.80 km of sewerage system and other projects. He also announced to upgrade the Sardulgarh Government hospital to 100 bedded hospital for providing quality treatment to the people.
In his address, senior AAP leader and Punjab Prabhari Manish Sisodia said, “It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that the foundation stone of this ambitious project has been laid. This project will give a boost to the economic development and the prosperity of this entire region. We are pursuing the politics of honesty and work and all sort of negative agenda will be rejected by people.”
Addressing the gathering, Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains said, “The mandate of 2022 was in the favor of the agenda of Health and Education for the well -being of the common people. The ITI will act as a game changer by opening new vistas of employment for the children of the common man. The state government is committed for the welfare of Punjab and Punjabis.”
On the occasion, Cabinet Ministers Harjot Singh Bains and Gurmeet Singh Khudian, senior AAP leader and Punjab Prabhari Manish Sisodia and others were also present.