M A I N   N E W S

Amarinder promises 12,000 schoolteacher posts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, January 13
Opening a window of employment opportunities for the state’s jobless youths, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today announced that the state government would soon launch a massive recruitment drive in all the departments to fill the vacant posts on regular basis. He said these posts would be filled strictly in accordance with merit in a transparent and fair manner. The CM stated this while addressing the party’s conference to mark the Maghi mela here.

He said recruitment to 12,000 posts of school teacher would begin soon and ETT teachers would also be appointed on permanent basis. He said the recruitment process in the Police Department had already been initiated, while all other departments facing a staff crunch were also told to work out their requirements.

The Chief Minister said fresh round of recruitments would strengthen departments facing staff shortage and would also extend job opportunities to the state’s unemployed. He said though there were more vacancies in the Education Department, the state’s limited resources had restrained the government from filling all of these. Highlighting his government’s commitment to generate job opportunities, he said the state had bagged industrial investment of Rs 43,000 crore and it would help give jobs to five lakh youths of the state. Terming industrialisation as the need of the hour, he said the fragmentation of landholdings had hit the farmers hard and 72 per cent of them had less than four acres of land. His government had created atmosphere conducive to attract investment in the industrial sector and the recent sanction of projects worth Rs 19,000 crore corroborated his point. He said reputed firms like Reliance, ITC and Bharti Telecom had shown interest in Punjab and land prices had shot up. He said arrival of these firms augured well for the farmers, as they would provide seeds, guide them in cultivation and also market their produce. He reiterated his resolve to take measures to help the state’s debt-ridden farming community out.

Targeting SAD president Parkash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister said it had not remained the same Akali Dal that came into existence after many sacrifices in 1920s. He alleged that the father-son duo had turned the party into a private affair had nothing to do except threatening him. He alleged that everybody was annoyed with the Akali leadership due to Sukhbir’s projection as the ex-CM’s heir. He accused the former CM of committing a sacrilege by boycotting the Palki procession to Nankana Sahib. He said the government would also celebrate ‘Sampooranta Divas’ at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. He welcomed Muktsar MLA Sukhdarshan Singh Marar and Rampura Phul MLA Gurpreet Kangar, who shared dais with the CM, into the party’s fold and said development works in their constituencies would be completed soon. He announced the de-silting of distributaries and drains in the district to facilitate supply of irrigation water to the farmers. He also announced grant of another Rs 1 crore for Guru Gobind Singh Stadium and added that Minar-e-Mukta would be inaugurated in May.

Later, at a press conference, on the Punjab Pollution Control Board’s report on high pollution in the state’s main rivers, the CM said he was yet to see the report, but admitted that two teams had checked waters in southern Punjab following high incidence of cancer. He said they had approached in a national-level institute to suggest ways to rid the state of this mess.

Regarding security clearance condition for the Amritsar Nankana Sahib bus, he said it was not acceptable to Punjab and he had taken up the matter with the Home Minister and the Prime Minister.

On the Uttaranchal government’s response on the Kashipur issue, he said they had sent a team that met with the affected farmers and had sought reasonable compensation package for them. When asked about his government’s promise to rename Muktsar as Muktsar Sahib, he said the proposal was awaiting sanction from the Union Home Ministry. On the non-participation of Mr Jagmeet Brar, he said no invitations were sent to any of the party leaders and it was his own wish, but added that the party was united. He said the government would start a special lottery of Rs 25 crore for raising money for the police welfare fund, as they were having tough duty extending over 18-20 hours a day. The CM dedicated four gates raised in memory of 40 ‘muktas’ and also laid the foundation stone of the Police Lines on the city’s outskirts. Deputy CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Finance Minister Surinder Singla, Power Minister Lal Singh, PWD Minister Partap Singh Bajwa, Animal Husbandry Minister Jagmohan Singh Kang, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rana Gurmit Sodhi and Media Adviser to CM BIS Chahal were also present.

Jagmeet keeps away
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, January 13
Senior party leader Jagmeet Brar was conspicuous by his absence at the party’s conference on Maghi Mela here today.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Brar said the Congress had been giving advertisements of the party rally for the past two days and it would have been fairly good on its part if it had told him to come to the conference or put his name in the advertisements. He said the basic courtesy was needed, but the Chief Minister chose to ignore everything.

He said he had not forgotten his “humiliation” at the last Maghi conference and termed it as the most ungraceful behaviour. He alleged that when the CM didn’t have the manners and required grace to treat his colleague how a party worker could expect graceful treatment from him.

He said he had no personal differences with the CM and said he could play a constructive role if the party was united. He said he would have definitely attended the conference if a Central representative or the PPCC President had arrived. The PPCC chief, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, could not make it due to some illness.