Punjab: 'Confer Bharat Ratna on Bhagat Singh, Sarabha'

CHANDIGARH/LUDHIANA: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday urged the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian award - on Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha and other legendary martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for the country's freedom. Addressing a state-level function to mark the martyrdom day of Kartar Singh Sarabha at his native village, the CM said martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Lala Lajpat Rai deserved this award because they had made the supreme sacrifice for emancipating the country from foreign clutches.
With AAP under fire from the opposition parties over the issue of law and order situation in the state, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday hit back at the previous government leaders, alleging that those who patronised criminals during their regime were now raising questions about the peace and harmony of the state. At a function in Ludhiana, he urged the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian award - on Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha and other legendary martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for the country's freedom.
Mann said that it was like the Taliban advocating for peace. "Under their regime the jails break incidents occurred.. In order to save the daughter's honour, the police officer was shot in the market and they stepped on them and raised slogans in favour of their boss. They patronised gangsters and now, they question the peace and harmony of the state. It is just like the Taliban taking out a candle march and advocating peace," said Mann in a tweet.
He asserted that any anti-social element will not be allowed to disturb the hard-earned peace and communal harmony of the state at any cost. A few unfortunate incidents occurred in the state but still the law and order is intact in Punjab under the AAP government.
"The crime rate is extremely low in Punjab as compared to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states of the country but still we are taking precautionary measures like cracking down on gun-culture and reviewing gun licence issued recklessly by the previous governments so that the law and order situation remains intact," he said.
Addressing a state-level function to mark the martyrdom day of Kartar Singh Sarabha at his native village, the CM said martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Lala Lajpat Rai deserved this award because they had made the supreme sacrifice for emancipating the country from foreign clutches. Mann also sought national martyr status for Sarabha and promised to take up this issue with the Centre.
Claiming credit for the rechristening of Mohali airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh, he said naming airports, universities and other institutions after these martyrs is important to perpetuate their glorious legacy.
Mann also announced that the Government Senior Secondary School at Sarabha village will be transformed into a 'school of eminence'.
Earlier, the CM visited the ancestral house of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha and paid floral tributes to the martyr.
A group of villagers including Baldev Singh who had been sitting on protest for long, said they had informed the concerned authorities about their main demands: giving the status of national martyrs to great freedom fighters, including Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, naming of Halwara airport after Sarabha, punishment to culprits behind sacrilege cases of Guru Granth Sahib and bestowing Bharat Ratna for the great freedom fighters.
Baldev said the best way for the CM to push for this is to pass a resolution (with signatures of his MLAs) and send it to the central government.