E-Paper
Rajnath in Chandigarh, party leaders take up key issues with him
This was Rajnath’s second visit to Chandigarh in less than two-month time as he earlier inaugurated Air Force Heritage Centre and Raipur Kalan gaushala in May
9 yrs of Modi govt
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, who addressed the Progressive India Mega Rally in city’s Sector 34 on Saturday, said that the confluence of modernity, antiquity and spirituality can be seen on the soil of Chandigarh.
Rajnath, while addressing the public in Chandigarh as part of BJP’s public outreach “Sampark Se Samarthan” to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi government at the Centre, said, “Chandigarh is associated with spiritual and ancient roots. Companies from India and abroad also work here. Guru Gobind Singh has written ‘Chandi Di War’ and has praised the mother goddess in a devotional manner. Chandigarh is the tri-junction of Himachal-Haryana and Punjab and the people of the region give the biggest contribution to the Army.”
This was Rajnath’s second visit to Chandigarh in less than two-month time as he earlier inaugurated Air Force Heritage Centre and Raipur Kalan gaushala in May.
In his around 35-minute-long speech, Rajnath shared detailed information about the development works and schemes started by the Modi government during its nine-year tenure and said that economically India is now becoming stronger, and the country has become the fifth largest economy in the world.
During the event, other BJP leaders, including Chandigarh BJP president Arun Sood, mayor Anup Gupta, co-in-charge of Himachal BJP Sanjay Tandon, and former MP and additional solicitor general Satya Pal Jain were present with him. However, MP Kirron Kher was not present at the public rally.
Meanwhile, Arun Sood also took up several burning issues of Chandigarh with the Union minister, who assured city BJP leaders that he will be taking up these issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union home minister. He said the efforts will be made to resolve all the issues.
Among the issues were need-based changes in the Chandigarh Housing Board residences, conversion of leasehold property into freehold, lal dora, traders’ problems and employees housing scheme flats among others.
While speaking about the achievements of BJP in the city, mayor Anup Gupta said, “In BJP’s tenure, the huge garbage heap at Dadumajra has shrunk while the entire garbage will be processed by January 2024. We will make the city garbage-free. Also, we have initiated several water-related projects and have received compliments from the Union government.”
Protesting AAP councillors detained, released
AAP Councillors and party leaders carrying black flags protested against Rajnath Singh’s rally and demanded action against the alleged corrupt employees and leaders. They also demanded an apology from Kirron Kher for abusing a party councillor during the house meeting of the MC. The protesting leaders, however, were detained and taken to 39 sector police station and were released later.
“Corruption is rampant in the country and the BJP is silent and supporting the corrupt people. No action was taken even after the parking scam came to light in Chandigarh,” alleged Pradeep Chhabra, former Chandigarh mayor.
Should have met people’s delegation: Cong
Congress president HS Lucky said it would have been better if Rajnath Singh had held a meeting with the officials to solve the problems of Chandigarh and met the people’s delegation and listened to them, but he “failed” to do so. “He only addressed the BJP workers gathered from tricity and went away and did not make any announcement for Chandigarh. People are facing a lot of hardship because of inflation, corruption and unemployment,” he added.