Chandigarh-The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) started its Lok Sabha election campaign named 'Sansad Cha Vi Bhagwant Maan, Khushhal Punjab Te Vadhegi Shaan' (Bhagwant Mann in Parliament too, means Prosperous Punjab and more glory) in Punjab.
A party function was organized in Mohali on Monday where AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann officially launched the campaign. The AAP Punjab Working President Principal Budh Ram, General Secretary Harchand Singh Barsat, all ministers and MLAs of the AAP government were present in this programme. Thousands of AAP workers and party office bearers of all districts also participated in the function.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to the people of Punjab to give the Aam Aadmi Party all the 13 seats in the state and said that when all the MPs of the state are ours, then the Central Government won't be able to stop the funds of Punjab. Mann said that I have to fight alone with the Central Government and the Governor. If 13 MPs win then our hands will be strengthened and courage will be increased.
Mann assured Arvind Kejriwal that we will win 13 out of 13 seats and put them in your bag. He said that in 2014, when the Aam Aadmi Party was contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time, four MPs of the party won, reached the Lok Sabha and all of them were from Punjab.
He said that we are working day and night for the progress of the people of Punjab. After the formation of the government on March 16, 2022, not a single day has passed when we did not go to the people.
We bought a thermal plant. Functioning our own coal mine. Gave more than 42000 government jobs. Providing free electricity. Built Schools of Eminence and Mohalla Clinics. Started a pilgrimage scheme for old people. One crore rupees ex-gratia to the families of the martyrs. Agniveer soldiers, whom the Central Government does not even consider as martyrs, we are also giving Rs 1 crore to their families. Apart from this, many unnecessary NOCs were abolished for the convenience of common people and businessmen.
Mann also attacked the BJP and the central government. He said that the BJP knows that it cannot win in Punjab so they hate Punjab. They do not want Punjab to progress. They try to harass us through the Governor. The Central Government is withholding funds worth Rs 8500 crore of Punjab. Five and a half thousand crores is of RDF (Rural Development Fund), which is used to build mandis and the roads connected to them, is also being withheld.
Mann also attacked former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and said that it was because of his mistake that this money is not being released. Last time when RDF money came, they did not use it to build mandis and roads. With this money he paid the loan installments. That is why the Center withheld the money and said that the funds were being misused.
We passed a proposal for this that this money will be used only for the mandis and only on the works related to the roads leading to the mandis. Still the central government is not releasing the funds. The Center is comparing the mandis of Punjab with those of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while they have mandis at 50-100 kilometers, but in Punjab there is a mandi at every 5 kilometers.
Mann also attacked Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal and Akali leader Parminder Singh Dhindsa. He said that these people have not gathered to save Punjab or the panth. These families have come together to save themselves. Now the people of Punjab are not going to give them any importance. On Sukhbir Badal's Punjab Bachao Yatra, Mann said that his journey is only for the chair and family. It had nothing to do with the people and Punjab.
Kejriwal to the people of Punjab - We love you, consider you our master, can never return your favour
Kejriwal told the people of Punjab, 'We love you. You are our master. We can never return your favor.' He said that the BJP says that they are getting 370 seats. They don't want your vote. But I want your vote. I have come here from Delhi to ask for your votes.
Criticizing the previous governments, Kejriwal said that earlier there was negativity everywhere in Punjab. There was a problem with law and order. There was inflation. People had high electricity bills. There used to be power cuts for eight to ten hours. Farmers and traders were unhappy. Industrialists were leaving the state.
Today there is positivity everywhere in Punjab. Traders and industrialists are coming back. Many big industrialists want to set up their industries in Punjab. People are getting employment. Temporary jobs are being regularised. New mohalla clinics are being opened every day.
Now electricity is free for the people of Punjab and they are getting electricity 24 hours a day. Excellent government schools are being built. People do not believe that such government schools can exist. Earlier teachers used to sit on tankis, now they are being regularised and are teaching in the schools. Now employees don't have to climb on water tanks.
He said that our government, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, all our ministers and MLAs are serving the people round the clock. Today, everyone in Punjab says the same thing that we have never seen such a government in 75 years.
Appealing to the people of Punjab, he said that give 13 out of 13 seats to Bhagwant Mann. All these MPs will raise the voice of Punjab inside and outside the Lok Sabha. He said that we do not want this seat for ourselves and our children. Our party does not want this seat for itself. You need it to make your family happy and to make Punjab a Rangla again.
Kejriwal attacked the opposition MPs and said where were these MPs when the Central Government withheld Rs 8000 crore from Punjab? When the Punjab tableau was stopped on January 26, where were the 12 MPs from other parties? He said that only Sushil Rinku's voice was heard in the Lok Sabha. The remaining twelve were never seen fighting for Punjab.
Kejriwal attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Central Government and said that the Central Government, the Governor and the BJP are harassing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and our government. Whatever work we do, the Governor is obstructing it. But Bhagwant Mann is fighting alone with the central government and BJP.
The BJP government rejected the 26 January tableau of Punjab. That tableau was about Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Lala Lajpat Rai and many other freedom fighters of Punjab. Kejriwal accused BJP of trying to topple the AAP government in Punjab. He said that they approached our MLAs and tried to tempt and buy them.
Bhagwant Mann-Kejriwal released a poster listing works of AAP government in the last 2 years, said - we worked, we are seeking votes on the basis of that work
Education
-Fantastic Schools of Eminence
-12700 temporary teachers regularised
-Training of principals of government schools in Singapore
Health
-Opened more than 800 Aam Aadmi clinics
-Upgradation of government hospitals with Rs 550 crore
free electricity
-600 units of electricity free to every house
-Zero electricity bill of 90 percent houses
-uninterrupted and free electricity for farmers
Employment and investment
-Government jobs to more than 40, 000 youth
-Created more than 3 lakh private jobs
-Investment of more than Rs 50, 000 crore
Honoring martyrs
-1 crore for the family of every martyred soldier
-Doubled the assistance amount for injured soldiers
-1 crore to the family of martyr farmer Shubhakaran
Crop diversity
-MSP of Rs 7, 225 on Moongi
-Subsidy of Rs 1500 per acre for direct sowing of rice
-Subsidy on machines, rotavators and happy seeders for sowing wheat
Chief Minister Pilgrimage Scheme
-Free visit to Sri Hazur Sahib, Sri Patna Sahib, Mata Vaishno Devi, Salasar Dham, Mata Chintpurni and other pilgrimage places.
-AC buses and AC trains, accommodation arrangements in AC dharamshalas
Accessible facilities
-The condition of NOC is abolished for all types of registries.
Camps by government officials in every village under the AAP government.
Ration card
-More than 10 lakh ration cards reinstated
- Door-to-door delivery of free ration
-Ensured benefits for every household in Punjab
Road Safety Force
-Monitoring of every road in the state with 144 hi-tech vehicles
-Special training of force employees