Chandigarh, July 18, 2023 (Yes Punjab News)
Former Union Minister and senior Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal today asked the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to down from his high flying publicity trips to promote Arvind Kejriwal and immediately call a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to discuss the grave flood menace in Punjab. “From wetting your feet in mud for cameras to cruising at ten thousand feet midair, you really excel at playing versatile roles.”
“A special session of the Vidhan Sabha could be convened to interfere in the religious affairs of the Sikhs in an attempt to grab control of Sikh shrines through the backdoor. Does the CM dare do such a thing with regard to religious affairs of any other community?” she asked, adding that the CM has no time from flying to promote his non-Punjabi boss Arvind Kejriwal in far off places like Karnataka etc and that too at the expense of the already suffering Punjabi tax payers’ money.”
The Akali leader said that the flood tragedy in Punjab is “Bhagwant made, and not Bhagwan made.”
Ms Badal was speaking to media persons after visiting flood affected areas in the Malwa belt including villages in Budhladha and Sardulgarh constituencies like Phus Mandi, Sadhuwala, Reond Khurd, Reond Kalan and various wards of Sardulgarh town. She also joined people busy constructing temporary bundhs at several places and urged the Deputy Commissioner Mansa to proactively address problems being faced by beleaguered victims of the flood menace.
Talking to newsmen and later, in a statement, the former Union Minister came down heavily against the Chief Minister, and said , “Hundreds of villages and thousands of acres of land with crop is under water while you are flying in the heavens far away from the beleaguered whose only sin is that they entrusted their destiny in your hands. It is time you put a stop to your publicity jamboree and got down to brass-tacks to save the people reeling under flood fury
She said that she was “deeply pained” to see that the Chief Minister is behaving so heartlessly that when his State is suffering from floods, people are losing lives, livestock is dying, he criss-crossing the skies to promote Kejriwal in Karnataka.”
She asked the CM to cancel publicity gimmicks, save state funds for the aggrieved people here and devote his time to the people who had voted him to power.”
She regretted that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann made tall talk about release compensation even before Girdawari but has not shown his face since then, despite over 35 deaths and hundreds of cattle loss. No ex-gratia has even been announced, leave aside providing it.” People in villages are losing lives, crops, cattle and property and in the absence of any help from government side tension among them is escalating. She said that villagers were pooling their resources on their own to save their villages from water gushing in as the administration is totally absent.
She said that it was extremely unfortunate that despite her warnings, the administration had not bothered to take effective steps to strengthen bundhs. The Chandpura bundh breach was the result directly of this insensitivity and neglect, allowing Ghaggar waters to flood and ravage vast areas in Budhlada and Sardulgarh in Mansa district.
“But even in this hour grave tragedy, the CM and his AAP government are busy in photo ops for fake publicity.
She said that countless people narrated tales of their misery. “Each one of them choked while recalling what the late CM Parkash Singh Badal would have done in a situation like this. “They could barely speak when they talked about Mr Badal and how used to prepare well in advance for any possible natural challenges, ordering preparatory cleaning of canals, drains, naalas, and strengthening of bandhs and bridges in February to May every year, well before the rains arrived. And when the situation went beyond a point, he was always personally there to oversee relief operations and ensure the supply of essential goods.”
She said that Shiromani Akali Dal was committed to help Punjabis in every possible way. She handed over diesel drums, dry milk packets in villages and also made arrangements for tractors, boats and fodder to reach people by tomorrow.
She also inspected the sites where people were constructing temporary bundh on roads.
Former Union Minister was accompanied by SAD leaders of area including Prem Arora, Gurmail Singh Fafde, Ballam Singh Kalipur, Gurpreet Singh Chahal, Hanish Mansa, Gurdeep Singh Todarpur, Bobby Jain and Jatinder Singh Sodhi.
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