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CM Mann opens ₹56-cr RoB in Rampura Phul, raps past regimes for ignoring demand
Addressing a gathering after the inaugural event, the Punjab CM said the RoB was a long-pending demand of Rampura Phul residents for smooth connectivity in the town, but the respective state governments took no action in this direction
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday inaugurated a 1.1-km railway over bridge (RoB) at Rampura Phul, Bathinda, built at a cost of ₹56 crore.
Addressing a gathering after the inaugural event, the CM said the RoB was a long-pending demand of the residents for smooth connectivity in the town, but the respective state governments took no action in this direction.
Mann said the assembly constituency of Rampura Phul had been represented by political stalwarts like Sikander Singh Maluka of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Gurpreet Singh Kangar of the Congress for almost two decades. They remained ministers as well, but ignored the issue of building a bridge.
“The local legislators had a priority to promote their family members in politics and remained cut off from the issues of the masses. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is fulfilling the pre-poll promises by introducing several schemes and projects to improve health, education and civic amenities across the state,” the CM claimed.
Mann charged at the previous political regimes for “patronising corruption and drug dealers” instead, citing the arrest of senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia as one of the key successes of his government.
“When our government put Majithia in jail, leaders from the opposition, including Captain Amarinder Singh, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Charanjit Singh Channi and Ravneet Singh Bittu, collaborated to oppose the arrest,” he said.
In a scathing attack on the Akalis, Mann alleged that SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal was using funds of gurdwaras for flood victims while passing it off as money collected by the party or from business of the Badal family.
‘Youth fests helped me excel in life’
The CM also attended Punjabi University’s regional youth festival at SD College, Barnala, where he exhorted youngsters to draw inspiration from revolutionary icons like Shaheed Bhagat Singh and other martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Recalling his college days, he said youth festivals helped him excel in life as an artist and now as a politician: “The youth must use these platforms for their comprehensive growth and development.”
Stating that he performed in various youth festivals and won trophies for his college, Mann said winning was his only passion. He exhorted the youth to stay grounded and believe in hard work as it was the sole key to success.
The chief minister said that on the one hand, his government had taken unprecedented steps to provide jobs to the youth, on the other hand, several endeavours had been made to channelise their unbounded energy.
Mann said as runways at airports facilitated an aeroplane in taking off smoothly, in the same manner the state government was helping the youth in realising their dreams.
He made a fervent appeal to youth to make all-out efforts to carve an identity of their own in society, adding that sky’s the limit for them. He urged the youth not to feel proud of their victory but to stay humble and work hard for more success, adding that confidence and a positive approach should be basic traits of everyone’s personality, but there should be no pride in it.
He said eminent literary personalities such as Sant Ram Udasi, Ram Sarup Ankhi, Om Parkash Gasso, Balwant Gargi, Sewa Singh Thikriwala and Megh Raj Mittar hailed from Barnala, and because of these luminaries, the district had long been known as the “Literature Capital of Punjab”.
The chief minister also lauded the contribution of SD College in nurturing countless students who had made their mark across various fields globally. He acknowledged the institution’s vital role in shaping the lives and futures of young Punjabis.
