Govt past half-way mark: Punjab CM asks ministers to give push to devp works

With the Congress government completing its half-term in Punjab, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday directed his ministers to draw up an action plan for their departments and engage closely with the MLAs to give further impetus to development works in their areas.

The CM and his council of ministers discussed the progress made by the government in the last 30 months and the way forward.

Amarinder expressed satisfaction over the work done so far by all the departments despite severe financial crunch faced by his government due to a gross mismanagement by the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) coalition in 10 years of its rule.

Saying the half-way mark of his government is “an occasion to stop and review the work of the past and to draw out a detailed strategy for the second half”, he underlined the need to go forward with a focused action plan.

He asked the ministers to get the MLAs’ inputs and feedback on a regular basis and pay special attention to the development works in their constituencies.

The CM was of the view that every department should check and review its achievements holistically from time to time. He emphasised ensuring the people’s aspirations, who continue to have high hopes from the government, are fulfilled completely.

CAPTAIN’S CLAIMS FAR FROM REALITY: SAD

Accusing the Congress government of spreading misinformation about its achievements, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday said most of the schemes highlighted are of the central government for which the state is taking credit.

Talking to mediapersons, former Akali ministers Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema said Amarinder Singh’s claim of having fulfilled 141 of the 161 promises is akin to befooling the people.

“Also, he is exposing the Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh whose picture adorn the party manifesto, to ridicule,” they said.

Cheema said be it the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana, which was created by submerging Ayushman Bharat in it, the housing to the poor under PM Awas Yozna or toilets for the downtrodden, they are all central schemes.

“If the wild claims of Amarinder Singh are taken at face value, why are farmer suicides on rise? Then why unemployed youths are ending their lives? Why a death by drug overdose is being reported on a daily basis?” Majithia questioned.

“The claim of providing 9 lakh jobs, including 42,000 government jobs, is a white lie. We want the state government must provide details on it.

The claim that investment worth ₹50,000 crore has been made during the Amarinder government’s tenure is a sham. The CM should name one project which has come to the state since his party came to power,” added Majithia

First Published: Sep 17, 2019 01:15 IST