Punjab: Every rupee of people’s money being spent on people’s welfare, says Mann

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the AAP government was committed to returning every rupee of public money to the people through welfare and development initiatives, while making it clear that no pressure from opposition parties can derail the government’s pro-people agenda.

Speaking during the “Ek Sham Bhagwan Shiv Ke Naam”devotional evening in Rajpura, he said his responsibility was to ensure employment for every household, treatment for every elderly person and quality education for every child, while assuring women, who had not yet received the financial aid, that they too will receive payments from July after completing the required formality.

Addressing the gathering, Mann said Punjab belonged to everyone and its centuries-old tradition of celebrating every festival together must be preserved. “Punjab is a bouquet in which every colour of flower is there and everyone prospers on this sacred land. Our land is so fertile that every seed can grow here, but the seed of hatred can never grow because our unity is very strong,” he said.

The chief minister said Punjab had always set an example of communal harmony, with people participating in each other’s religious and cultural celebrations. “In Punjab, all festivals are celebrated together, be it Ram Navami, Gurpurab or Eid. Due to this, the bond of communal harmony, brotherhood and fraternity is very strong here,” he said.

Highlighting his government’s initiatives to facilitate pilgrimage, Mann said, “Our government has started the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Yojana, under which pilgrims are being facilitated to visit major religious destinations across Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.”

Free transport, boarding and lodging facilities were being provided under the scheme, enabling people to pay obeisance at revered shrines without bearing any financial burden, he added.