Punjab government committed for proper upkeep of ancestral house of Lala Lajpat Rai: CM

Ludhiana: In reply to a question by Ludhiana resident Mr Kamaldeep Bansal, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, during his Facebook live session, #Askcaptain assured that the ancestral house of our great freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai at Jagraon (Ludhiana) would be properly maintained. He said that the Punjab Cultural Affairs Minister would be asked to visit the place and ensure that the house is properly maintained. The CM said that he has visited the house several times and had no knowledge about the present condition. He assured that the Punjab government would maintain this house properly.
    Similarly, while replying to another question of one Mr Jaskaran Singh from Ludhiana, the CM said that for carrying out development of any city, a master plan is prepared. He urged Mr Jaskaran Singh to bring any such matter to his notice where development is not being carried as per the master plan.
    Replying to another question of Mr Gurpreet Singh Gill of Ludhiana, he said that the Akalis of selling Punjab’s interests by agreeing to the anti-farm Ordinances in order to ruin the state’s farming community. He asserted that he would take the fight against the anti-farmer Ordinances to the Centre.
    Captain Amarinder Singh said he would be writing soon to the Prime Minister for appointment for the all-party delegation which all Punjab parties, except the BJP, had unanimously decided upon. He said that once these Ordinances are passed, the Centre’s next step would be to end the MSP regime and dismantle the FCI. While pointing to the recommendations of the Shanta Kumar committee, he said, “You can imagine what will happen to Punjab farmers if this becomes a reality,” he said, adding that the procurement process will come to an end and Mandis will be finished once the Ordinances become law.
    The Akalis were only interested in protecting their political interests, with Harsimrat Kaur Badal focused on safeguarding her position in the Union Cabinet, said the Chief Minister, adding that the Badals were appeasing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to save their alliance in Punjab at any cost.
    “They are just bothered about their political interests. Sukhbir wants his wife to stay in the Union Cabinet while he remains the Pradhan here. They are thinking about themselves and not of Punjab,” he stated, adding that history is witness to the fact.
    Underlining the need to save Punjab and protect its interests, the Chief Minister said the Ordinances were 100% against Punjab and anti-farmers, as agreed by all political parties, except BJP and the Akalis. All the Kisan Unions, who he had recently met, also wanted immediate scrapping of these Ordinances, he added.
    The Chief Minister said the Akalis had earlier ruined the state with their Punjabi Suba movement and were now hell-bent on destroying the farming sector by supporting these Ordinances, which were a blatant attack on the country’s federal structure. History is witness to the fact that the Akalis divided Punjab and gave away bulk of the state’s resources to Himachal Pradesh and Haryana due to their sheer short-sighted focus on their petty political interests.
    Had the state not been divided its representation in Parliament would have been many times over and its writ would have worked in Delhi, with no question of its interests being ignored, said Captain Amarinder, lamenting that with just 13 MPs, Punjab’s voice was going unheard, especially since other states were also now producing wheat and the central government felt it no longer needed Punjab to sustain its food security. “They (governments at the Centre) squeezed us and have now discarded us,” he said, urging the people of Punjab to extend their full support to the fight against the Ordinances and not be misled by the Akalis and BJP. /(July 4)