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Kejriwal, Mann ask sarpanches to help eradicate drug menace
Kejriwal said that the state government and police are working to eradicate drug menace in the state and the support of panchayats would help in making the state drug-free.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann called upon the new-elected sarpanches to help eradicate the drug menace from the state, assuring them of full support.
The former Delhi chief minister also urged the sarpanches to ensure transparency in development works.
Kejriwal made the remarks during a state-level function in Dhanansoo village in Ludhiana where Bhagwant Mann administered the oath of office to 10,031 sarpanches.
Kejriwal said that the state government and police are working to eradicate drug menace in the state and the support of panchayats would help in making the state drug-free.
“There is a drug menace in Punjab which the state government and the police are working to combat. But without your help, all those efforts will remain incomplete,” Kejriwal said, adding, “In the villages, everyone knows who all are involved in selling drugs and from where they are being procured. Hand over such people to the police. Let us know if they do not take action, and we will act against them.”
The former Delhi CM said that the decisions pertaining to the development of villages should be taken in gram sabhas to ensure judicious utilisation of funds. “The state government will extend full support to the sarpanches for every noble cause,” he said.
Congratulating people for free, fair and transparent polls, Kejriwal said it is heartening to learn that around 3,000 panchayats have been elected unanimously which will give a fillip to the development of villages.
In his address, Mann said that in the recently concluded elections, 13,147 new panchayats have been elected.
Mann said that in today’s function sarpanches from 19 districts have been administered the oath and oath-taking ceremony of other newly elected sarpanches of the remaining four districts namely Muktsar Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Barnala and Gurdaspur and 81,808 newly elected panches of 23 districts will be held after the bypolls.
Mann expressed gratitude to the villages who elected panchayats unanimously and said, “These villages have risen above the parochial considerations and elected their sarpanches unanimously to strengthen the ethos of harmony and brotherhood in villages on one hand and ensuring their comprehensive development on the other.”
Mann said that Ferozepur district took the lead by selecting 336 panchayats unanimously followed by Gurdaspur (335) and Tarn Taran (334).
Terming panchayati raj institutions as ‘lighthouse of democracy’, Punjab CM said that these institutions act as a catalyst for disseminating the benefits of pro-people and development-oriented schemes of state government at the grassroots level.
Mann assured sarpanches that there is no dearth of funds for undertaking developmental work in villages. “Sarpanches should prioritise the development work of their villages. Panchayats must pass resolution for holistic development of the villages adding that state government will leave no stone unturned for it,” Mann said.
SAD slams AAP for ‘increase in drug abuse’ in Punjab
In a statement, SAD chief spokesman Arshdeep Singh Kler said that Kejriwal had admitted during swearing-in of newly elected sarpanches that drug abuse had spread widespread in Punjab during the last few years. He said Kejriwal’s statement was a direct indictment of Bhagwant Mann’s government, and it was up to Kejriwal to answer why this had happened when he was in direct control of all state affairs.
