Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Punjab Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO has strongly hit out at the post and video shared on social media by Akali leaders Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia regarding the link road from village Kotfatta to Ramgarh Bhundar in Bathinda district. He said that the Punjab Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is carrying out the construction and improvement of nearly 45,000 kilometres of roads across the state with complete honesty and transparency. Such a large-scale effort to develop a road network has never been undertaken in Punjab before.
Addressing a press conference, Harbhajan Singh ETO said that some mischievous elements are deliberately posting misleading pictures and videos on social media in an attempt to defame the development works of the Punjab Government, but the people of Punjab understand their conspiracy and will not allow such politics to succeed. He said that the road currently under construction from Kotfatta to Ramgarh Bhundar in Bathinda district is also part of the 45,000-kilometre road works being undertaken by the government.
The Minister said that this was not a new road; rather, the work of laying a new PC, i.e. paver course, was being carried out on an already existing road. The PC was laid on the road on August 18, and the work had not even been completely finished that day. Meanwhile, former Akali sarpanch Gurwinder Singh, a resident of Ramgarh Bhundar, reached the spot and interfered with the incomplete work by tampering with a portion of the road and making a video of it, which was then posted on social media. Subsequently, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia attempted to raise questions against the Punjab Government on the basis of this very video.
Harbhajan Singh ETO said that it was highly unfortunate that the very work being carried out by the government in a village was politicised and an attempt was being made to defame it before its completion. He said that if the road work had not yet been completed, no one had the right to make a video creating a false impression about the incomplete construction work and promote it. He said that such interference in government work would not be tolerated at any cost.
The Minister said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had formulated a clear policy under which contractors awarded road construction work would also be responsible for the maintenance of the road for five years. He said that the government was fully serious about the quality of roads and that if any negligence came to light at any level, action would be taken against the concerned contractor or official.
ETO issued an open challenge to Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, saying that if they believed the road was so weak that it could be uprooted by hand, they should come with their team. He said, “I will reach the spot tomorrow at 11 AM. You both should also reach there, and if you can uproot the road with your hands, immediate action will be taken against the concerned contractor or official. But if you are unable to do so, you will have to publicly apologise before the people of Punjab for spreading a false post and video.”
He said that instead of looking at development works, Akali leaders were trying to find faults in them and turn them into a political issue. He said that once the road work was complete, they should visit the spot and check its quality, but reaching the site before the work is completed and interfering with the construction amounts to obstructing government work.
The Minister said that the people of Punjab are happy today because large-scale development works, including roads, schools, hospitals and other projects, are being undertaken in the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He said that the opposition parties were unable to accept this development because, after a long time, they had seen a government in Punjab that was giving priority to development. He said that the government of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was working with complete honesty and dedication to build a ‘Rangla Punjab’, and this development journey would continue unabated.
Harbhajan Singh ETO said that Akali Dal leaders, on the one hand, claim to approach the Central Government to speak about Punjab’s interests, but when any development work is undertaken in Punjab, they start trying to defame it. He said that the people of Punjab would not accept such double standards and negative politics. He made it clear that if anyone had doubts about the quality of any road, the government was ready for an inquiry, but attempts to mislead the public through a false or misleading video would not be tolerated.
He said that if the people had voted a political party out of power, it did not mean that it should oppose works in the public interest. Roads are a basic necessity for the people, and if a road is being constructed in any village, all political parties should welcome it. He said that criticising a development work being carried out in one’s own village amounted to playing with the sentiments of the people of Punjab.
The Minister warned that anyone who deliberately obstructed government development work or attempted to defame the government through a false and misleading video would face appropriate action in accordance with the facts and the law. He said that the Punjab Government would not retreat from its development agenda and that the construction and improvement of 45,000 kilometres of roads would continue with complete strength and transparency.
