Chandigarh, March 31 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday rolled out a Rs 75 crore development package, including a Rs 23 crore centre of excellence named after Kargil martyr Captain Amol Kalia, and major upgrades in education infrastructure in Nangal town.
He said those who presided over the rise of the drug trade and weakened Punjab’s social fabric can never be forgiven, stating that the people have moved decisively towards a model of honest governance focused on jobs, education and infrastructure.
After dedicating development works, CM Mann said, “The Akalis should be booked for the genocide of generations as the drug trade was patronised by them and flourished during their long misrule. The hands of these leaders are drenched with the blood of millions of youth who fell prey to drugs supplied in the state in their official vehicles. These sins are unpardonable, and they can never be forgiven by the people for their long saga of misdeeds.”
Coming down heavily on the Akali leadership, he said these “leaders have long fooled people by calling themselves farmers, but can they explain how any food grower acquires a huge fleet of buses and a lavish hotel in Gurgaon? All this has been accumulated by selling the interests of the state and its people for their vested political gains”.
“Sukhbir Badal has lost his base among the masses, and paid workers are being used to show crowds in rallies. In every Akali rally, the same crowd is present. Baffled by the unprecedented work done by the state government, he is making baseless and irrational statements. On the basis of such statements, the former Deputy Chief Minister is daydreaming about returning to power, which will never be possible,” said CM Mann.
Referring to past incidents, he recalled, the former Deputy Chief Minister “claims massive development during their regime but turns a blind eye to Kotakpura, Behbal Kalan and other places where ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) of Guru Granth Sahib took place, and innocents were killed. All of this happened under their regime. They have forgotten these ‘beadbi’ incidents and believe that people will forget them too, but people will not forget”.
“Their family was complicit. Their ‘Punjab Bachao Yatra’ is actually a ‘Parivar Bachao Yatra’. After looting the state for 15 years, they must explain who they are trying to save Punjab from. The Akalis have plundered the state mercilessly, bruised the psyche of Punjabis emotionally and patronised several mafias,” the Chief Minister added.
–IANS
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