Chandigarh, Nov 28 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday accused the BJP-led central government of being “anti-Punjab” and said if it gets its way, it will not hesitate from dropping “Punjab” from the national anthem.
Mann slammed the Centre for allegedly withholding the state’s rural development funds (RDF) and forcing it to beg for its share in the goods and services tax collections.
Taking part in a debate after the presentation of the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on the first day of the two-day state assembly session, Mann alleged that the BJP government at the Centre had an “anti-Punjab” mindset.
Though Punjab leads the country in contribution towards food grains and gives maximum representation in the Army, it is sad to note that the Centre has always ignored the state.
“Every day they do something which shows that Punjab is not a part of the country… The BJP is anti-Punjab,” said Mann in the House.
“They want the MSP to be abolished… stubble is not being burnt only in Punjab, they want FIRs against farmers but do not pay RDF,” he alleged.
“I want to ask the Punjab BJP chief (Sunil Kumar Jakhar) and the former chief minister (Amarinder Singh) that the BJP took so many anti-Punjab decisions and even then you are silent. If the Centre has its way, they would have dropped Punjab from ‘Jana Gana Mana’,” said Mann.
Singh joined the BJP in September 2022 and merged his Punjab Lok Congress with it. The two-time former Punjab chief minister with a long association with the Congress quit the party in 2021.
Mann further alleged that the BJP would try to cause economic damage to states where it is not in power besides “misusing” the CBI and the ED.
The Narendra Modi government is suffering from an “anti-Punjab syndrome” due to which they are “hell-bent” on ruining the state.
The Centre is adopting a “hostile” attitude towards the state and its farmers, he said.
Due to the apathy of the Union government, agriculture is no longer a profitable venture but now the Centre is trying to abolish the MSP on food grains, he claimed.
In addition, the Centre is putting the entire onus of environmental pollution in the national capital on the farmers of the state by asserting that they are burning paddy straw, he said.
Mann urged the people of Punjab to come forward to save the state’s rich legacy, finances, and tradition, asserting that it would go a long way in carving out a ‘Rangla (vibrant) Punjab’.
The chief minister said he expects the Punjab governor to give his assent to the Bills passed in the last Assembly session and also those which will be passed in the current session.
He also thanked Governor Banwarilal Purohit for according sanction to the current session and replying to the letters immediately.
“We do not want any animosity between the governor’s house and the state government. I want to thank the governor on the floor of the House as now whenever we write a letter to him, he replies instantly,” said Mann.
Mann said the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the Vidhan Sabha sessions has set a new benchmark in the polity of the country.
He said that it was not a matter of victory or defeat but the Punjab government had fought the battle for the interests of the people and democracy.
The Supreme Court, in its November 10 judgment, directed the Punjab governor to decide on the Bills passed by the legislative assembly during its “constitutionally valid” session held on June 19 and 20, saying the governor’s power cannot be used to “thwart the normal course of lawmaking”.
The top court decided on the plea of the AAP government in Punjab which alleged the governor was not granting his assent to the pending bills which were passed by the Assembly. PTI CHS VSD RHL
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