Will wipe out drugs from Punjab, develop sports: CM Mann
On Day 2 of Nasha Mukti Yatra, Mann blames predecessors for pushing state to brink, while Kejriwal sees “new hope”.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday reiterated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s commitment to wiping out the scourge of drugs and transforming the state into Rangla Punjab by developing it as a sports hub.
Addressing a gathering at Jalalpur village in Hoshiarpur district on the second day of the Nasha Mukti Yatra, Mann said: “We are committed to eradicating the blot of drug abuse from the state and making it Rangla Punjab by redeveloping it as a sports hub, bringing an industrial revolution and providing employment to youngsters.”
He blamed previous governments for ruining the state for vested interests. “There were some who considered themselves rajas (kings) and others were maharajas. How would they understand the problems of the common man? In the past, no CM has gone to interact with the people but here I’m going village to village to tell people that the whole Punjab government is with them. We are resolving their issues,” Mann claimed.
Addressing a gathering in Ludhiana’s Narangwal village, he appealed leaders to rise above party lines and support the AAP in its fight against drugs. He said the war against drugs has to be a mass movement for which people should forget their political affiliations.
On the water-sharing dispute with Haryana, he said: “My predecessors used to extend largesse for their vested interests but as a custodian of the waters of the state, I’ll never allow this. Punjab has upgraded its canal system so it requires water to cater to the needs of its farmers in the ensuing paddy-sowing season.”
AAP national convener and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal commended the state government’s Yudh Nasheyan Virudh. “The bulldozer action against drug peddlers, police crackdown on the supply chain and functioning of de-addiction centres have given rise to a new hope,” he said, adding to channelise the energy of youngsters, the state government will construct a stadium in every village.
The two leaders administered the oath against drugs to residents of both villages as part of the AAP government’s bid to sensitise people during its month-and-a-half-long campaign.
Oppn objects to copter hopping with Kejriwal, Sisodia in tow
Opposition leaders, however, criticised chief minister Mann for taking the helicopter route for the yatra and “reducing Punjab to a transit lounge for his Delhi bosses”.
Mann, Kejriwal and AAP Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia travelled by air from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar to Jalandhar after launching the yatra on Friday. After Saturday’s rally at Jalalpur village, they boarded the chopper for Ludhiana.
Taking a jibe at the AAP’s Nasha Mukti Yatra, Punjab leader of opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa termed it a “flight of hypocrisy” and added: “The helicopter belongs to Punjabis, but outsiders hold its possession.”
In a post on X, Delhi minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Mann had reduced Punjab to a transit lounge for his Delhi bosses. “By giving control to Kejriwal and Sisodia, he’s not just breaking the trust of Punjabis, Mann Sahab is insulting the sovereignty of his position and state. Using the Punjab government helicopter like a taxi for his masters and wasting public money is a serious betrayal. This Badlaav is costing Punjab heavy. People won’t forget or forgive.”
