Chandigarh, May 19:The central government’s economic policies and fuel pricing strategies have placed an unwarranted financial burden on the public, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann asserted on Monday.
Addressing the media, the Chief Minister claimed that recent state-level restrictions and inflationary pressures amount to an undeclared nationwide lockdown. He challenged the Prime Minister to reveal the precise status of the country’s gold, gas, and petroleum reserves rather than hiding fiscal realities from the population.
“The consequences of these restrictions are being borne by the entire nation while the Centre continues to hide the real condition of the economy from people,” Mann stated.
The Chief Minister noted that market dynamics were artificially managed to keep fuel prices stable until voting concluded, after which costs immediately surged by 3 rupees per litre. He maintained that using global tensions to justify these consecutive price hikes is an unfair imposition on common citizens. He also questioned the consistency of central travel advisories, remarking on the irony of citizens being cautioned against international travel while leadership continues foreign visits.
On regional administration, Mann announced that the state’s voter roll updation process, beginning June 15, will face strict scrutiny. He declared that any attempts to alter democratic outcomes by tampering with registration lists would be vigorously resisted by party volunteers.
“Neither genuine voters will be deleted nor fake voters added during Punjab’s SIR process,” Mann affirmed.
The Chief Minister further criticized the political alignment in the upper house of parliament, describing the BJP’s acquisition of seven Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab despite holding minimal state assembly presence as a direct contradiction of democratic principles. He confirmed that a formal delegation has already approached the President to seek appropriate action regarding these anti-party activities.
Concluding his remarks, the Chief Minister discussed the passage of the Jaagat Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026. He declared that the new legislation introduces severe punitive measures to prevent sacrilege, fulfilling a long-standing aspiration of the global Sikh community. He added that the state administration remains fully committed to enforcing the statutory protections in their entirety to maintain absolute respect for the sacred text.
