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Punjab CM declares holiday on martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh
Mann made the announcement on the floor of the Punjab assembly on the concluding day of the first session of the new government
Chandigarh : Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday declared a state holiday on March 23, the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
Mann made the announcement on the floor of the Punjab assembly on the concluding day of the first session of the new government. “The holiday was observed only in Nawanshahr earlier, but Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh did not belong to this district alone. He belonged to the entire country. We are, therefore, declaring a holiday in the entire state so that school and college students, their parents and teachers can travel to Hussainiwala and Khatkar Kalan to know more about his (freedom fighter’s) life,” he added.
Mann takes dig at Warring
After the chief minister proposed the state holiday, Congress MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring suggested that rather than announcing a holiday, it would be good if schools and colleges and others are informed about the life and sacrifice of the legendary freedom fighter by organising special sessions on this day. Responding to the Gidderbaha MLA’s suggestion by saying that he also had something similar in his mind, Mann asked him whether he knew when Bhagat Singh was born.
Caught off-guard by the chief minister’s query, Warring kept quiet. “How wonderful, you do not know about it? It is September 28. Just note it down. There will be plays in schools and colleges on the life of the martyr on this day,” Mann said with a surprised look on his face even as several of his party colleagues thumped the desks.
Half knowledge more dangerous: Warring
Though Warring tried to respond to the chief minister’s dig, speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan did not permit him. The Congress MLA later put out a post quoting (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal’s five-year-old tweet showing September 27 as the freedom fighter’s birth anniversary. “Dear @BhagwantMann Ji Half knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge… Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagar Singh Ji’s Birthday is on 27 September or 28th, as you said? Who is correct? You or @Arvind Kejriwal Ji,” Warring tweeted along with a photo of the Delhi chief minister’s post.
Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary is observed on September 28.
CM in Khatkar Kalan today
Mann will pay homage to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on their martyrdom day on Wednesday at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh. The Punjab CM Mann will also visit the ancestral house of Bhagat Singh.
SBS Nagar deputy commissioner Vishesh Sarangal and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kanwardeep Kaur reviewed the preparations for the state-level function on Tuesday.
Mann to meet PM tomorrow
Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on March 24. The meeting will be Mann’s first with the Prime Minister after being sworn in as the chief minister. “After taking over as the chief minister of Punjab, I have sought time from Prime Minister and (Union) home minister for a courtesy call and to discuss issues related to Punjab,” he tweeted on Tuesday. Mann was administered oath as the chief minister on March 16.
