Removing Gandhi’s photo from Punjab offices by AAP govt insult to nation: NSUI

Congress student wing’s Punjab president Akshay Sharma urges chief minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure pictures of Mahatma Gandhi are restored in all state govt offices as before

Punjab NSUI president Akshay Sharma on Monday urged chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to ensure pictures of Mahatma Gandhi are restored in all state government offices as before.

While taking oath as Punjab chief minister at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, on March 16, Bhagwant Mann had said that no government office will display the photo of the CM. Instead, photos of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar will be put on walls in government offices. (Representative image)

“Those behind the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s picture must be taken to task,” Sharma said in a press release issued in Chandigarh and sought an inquiry to ascertain who ordered the removal of the pictures of the Father of the Nation from state offices.

“People have entrusted you with the huge responsibility of leading the state with humility, decisiveness and respect,” Sharma said, appealing to the chief minister intervene and ensure a corrective course.

The NSUI state president put out a memorandum on the issue. “The Father of the Nation is our most revered national figure, like all our freedom struggle heroes, Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who gave everything to ensure freedom for us,” he said.

“Mahatma Gandhi’s pictures along with those of other national icons adorn the walls of public offices to inspire our youngsters. The dream of Rangla Punjab can only be achieved when we all work towards it with love, respect and cooperation of each other,” Sharma added.

While taking the oath of office as the chief minister last week at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh, Mann had said that no government office will display the photograph of the chief minister. Instead, photos of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar will be put on walls in government offices.

In the run-up to the February 20 elections, AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had also said that portraits of Bhagat Singh and Dr BR Ambedkar will replace those of the chief minister or other political leaders in all government offices in Punjab if the AAP came to power.