SAS NAGAR, March 15 — Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central Government, maintaining that the Union Home Minister’s visit to Punjab offered no solutions to the state’s pressing economic and agricultural issues. The Chief Minister affirmed that the visit was a missed opportunity to guarantee a legal Minimum Support Price (MSP) or provide relief to debt-ridden farmers.
Addressing the media, Mann stated that the BJP’s “politics of religion and hatred” will find no takers in the state. He asserted that the party remains a “scooter party” in Punjab with no grassroots base, questioning where they would find enough candidates to contest future elections. The Chief Minister declared that the people of Punjab still remember the humiliation faced by farmers during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws.
“The Modi Government has withheld Punjab’s RDF and GST funds, and has still not released ₹1,600 crore flood relief compensation,” the Chief Minister stated. He maintained that these actions are a deliberate attempt to derail the state’s progress. Despite this lack of support, Mann noted that the Punjab Government has successfully provided 65,000 jobs to the youth and is attracting massive investment through the ongoing Investors Summit.
The Chief Minister also declared that the Centre is failing in its primary duty to stop the influx of drugs from across the border. He stated that the state government has spent its own resources to install anti-drone technology along the 550 km border. Mann asserted that while the Union Government remains silent on the 3,000 kg of drugs seized at Gujarat ports, it continues to unfairly target Punjab’s reputation.
