*JOINS SRI RAM SHARNAM FUNCTION
*LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF RS.5 CRORE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE AT DHELON
LUDHIANA – Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today said that the Congress and corruption are the two sides of same coin or Congress is synonymous of corruption because the Congress led UPA government at Centre due to all pervasive rampant corruption has brought our economy at the brink of disaster.
Talking to the media persons on the sidelines of the ‘Puranahuti of Sri Ramayan Gyan Yagh’ organised by local unit of Sri Ram Sharnam Gohana here at Rishi Nagar, Mr. Badal "Congress is even worst than termite which had eaten up the entire democratic system of administration through illegal and unlawful practices thereby paralyzing the governance at all levels. He also blamed the Congress for hand in glove with the handful of influential people who had amassed black money and stashed in the foreign banks. He stressed on the need to immediately to bring back this money which could be utilized for funding public welfare schemes. At the same time he also demanded to enact legislation to severally punish the guilty involved in the black money.
Asked to comment on the impact of civil society activist Mr. Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement on the prospects of SAD-BJP in the forthcoming state assembly elections with regard to PPCC President Amarinder Singh’s statement in the media, Mr. Badal declined to comment on it but however, said that it was not the question of gain or loss to any political party but the core issue was to wipe out corruption from the system which ultimately led to economic disparities causing wide poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and starvation in the country even after 64 years of independence. Mr. Badal said that he welcomed the initiative of Mr. Anna Hazare to bring awareness against the menace of corruption amongst the masses and Shiromani Akali Dal had already expressed solidarity with him on this issue from day one. He also said that his party was firm on the Anna’s Jan Lokpal issue and would fully support it.
Taking a swipe at the Planning Commission of India for making mockery of the poor, Mr. Badal said that he was shocked to learn that a person earning Rs.26 in villages and Rs.32 in urban areas was rich. He said: "Congress is shedding crocodile tears by claiming to be a sympathiser of the poor by making tall claims of ‘Congress Ka Hath Aam Adami Ke Sath’. It is beyond anyone’s understanding how a government could base its policies on such weird presumptions’.
Training guns at Centre for its anti-farmer stance and apathetic attitude towards state, Mr. Badal said that despite numerous requests made by us at different foray the Centre neither bothered to speed up the movement of the foodgrains already stocked in the godowns to create storage for the new paddy nor it allowed us to construct more godowns to generate additional storage capacity.
Mr. Badal said that the sole aim and objective of all the religions was to attain spiritualism through a path of righteousness. He called upon the people to respect all the religions because no religion in the world preaches the cult of communalism.
Paying obeisance on the Puranahuti of Ramayan Gyan Yagh organized by the local unit of Sri Ram Sharnam, Mr. Badal said that it was a great effort on the part of Bhagat Hans Raj ji of Sri Ram Sharnam Gohana to spread the message of love, peace and brotherhood to every nook and corner of the country through his religious sermons. He said that such religious congregations go a long way to redeem the people from the pangs of agony in this materialistic society.
Later, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of Rs.5 crore Community Health Centre at Dhelon. The upcoming community health centre would cater to the needs of the residents of about 50 nearby villages.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister reiterated his commitment to provide the best medical care and diagnostic facilities to the people within their reach. He said the State Govt. had already spent Rs. 340 crore for setting up a network of district hospitals, community and primary health centres equipped with the best medical infrastructure. He also
mentioned the State Govt. had already established a corpus fund Rs. 20 crore during the current financial year to provide free treatment to the poor patients suffering from Cancer. He categorically said that massive investment in the health care sector during the SAD-BJP regime of four-and-a-half-years was beyond any comparison of Congress’ tenure of over 50 years.
Prominent amongst others who were present on these both functions Tourism Minister Mr. Hira Singh Gabria, Health & Family Welfare Minister Mr. Satpal Gosian, Vice Chairman Punjab State Planning Board Prof. Rajinder Bhandari, Ex-Minister Mr. Maheshinder Singh Grewal, MLA Dakha Mr. Darshan Singh Shivalik, Chairman PSSSB Mr. Santa Singh Umaidpuri, ex Minister Mr.Jagdish Singh Garcha besides the senior leaders and workers of SAD-BJP.