Minister Dhaliwal slams former CM Channi for remarks against women
Cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has slammed former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi of the Congress for making derogatory remarks against women and demanded an apology from him. Speaking on the sidelines of a swearing-in ceremony for 5,526 newly elected sarpanches and panches, the minister recalled that as a Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, he had organised four seminars across the state for women panches and sarpanches. It may be mentioned that Channi is in the eye of a storm for comments made during election campaigning in Gidderbaha that drew sharp reactions.
Present as the chief guest at the district-level oath-taking ceremony at Guru Nanak Stadium here today, Dhaliwal congratulated them for being elected gram panchayat members and exhorted them to rise above the politics of revenge, inviting them to work for the development of villages.
He said that the government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had made health, education, employment and public welfare its priority as a new way of working out politics. “That is the reason why the newly elected gram panchayats should move forward with this new thought to bolster growth in villages,” he said.
He told the panches about the efforts being made by the government to keep the youth away from drugs and appealed to them to have a drug-free village mission. He also asked the panches to work in close coordination in the villages under MGNREGA scheme and create employment opportunities.
The minister also urged people to plant more saplings so that water and air in the villages remain clean, renovate ‘Chappars’ to use water from the ponds for agricultural purposes under liquid waste management and also create a plastic-free and garbage-free environment.
Stressing on the implementation of waste management projects, he said the promise made by his government to make Punjab free of corruption was not possible without the support of panchayats.
The Sai Group presented a play on the occasion to make people aware about the harmful effects of drugs and the Dhadi Jatha of Sawinder Singh Bhangu recited ballads.
Among others, Punjab MLAs Jaswinder Singh Ramdas, Jasbir Singh Sandhu and Dalbir Singh Tong also addressed the gathering. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and SSP Charanjit Singh were present on the occasion.
