North News
Jalandhar, July 25
North News
Jalandhar, July 25
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant
Singh Mann on Thursday announced that state government will boycott the NITI
Aayog meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27 at New Delhi.
Interacting with media persons here today, the Chief Minister said that
the decision has been taken after the Union Budget failed to allocate funds to
Punjab, despite the state’s significant contributions to the nation. He termed
the Union Budget as “Kursi Bachao Budget” (Save the Chair Budget) and
accused the central government of political vendetta against non-BJP ruled
states. Bhagwant Singh Mann bemoaned that Punjab, being a main and major
grain-producing state, was ignored in the Budget, and the Finance Minister’s
announcement of providing ration to 80 crore people did not mention Punjab.
The Chief Minister emphasised that Punjab shares a 532-kilometer international border and has always stood
for the nation’s interest. However, he said that the union government has
blocked roads and imposed a burden on the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann recalled
his efforts to waive off the Rs. 7.5 crore imposed by the Union Government for
sending military forces during the Dinanagar and Pathankot attacks.
The Chief Minister assured that his government will raise its financial resources to make the state
economically viable and demanded a special status for Punjab. He highlighted
Punjab’s contributions to the freedom struggle and its role as the food bowl of
India. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that farmers of the state were ignored, and
barriers were raised to curb them.
The Chief Minister slammed the Union government for withholding Rs. 10,000 crore from the state and the governor for raising trivial issues daily. He assured that every effort will be
made to ensure law and order and appealed to the Governor not to create
conflict. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the decisions regarding appointment of
Vice Chancellors of Universities should be made by elected representatives, not
selected ones. He appealed to the Governor to refrain from creating an
atmosphere of conflict, given the constitutional nature of the post.
In addition to it, the Congress has already announced that their chief ministers — Siddaramaiah of Karnataka, Revanth Reddy of Telangana, and Sukhvinder Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh — will be
absent from the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting set for July 27.
