Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday declared a holiday in the state on March 23 to mark the Martyrs’ Day to remember the sacrifice of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru.
Mann told the Assembly that with this holiday, the people of Punjab would be able to visit Bhagat Singh’s native village Khatkar Kalan to pay tribute. Interestingly, Mann took oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab in a grand ceremony held in Khatkar Kalan on March 16.
Congress MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring took a jibe at the AAP government in the Assembly and said: “The Chief Minister should tell the school children about the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh instead of giving a holiday on this occasion.”
In reply, Mann asked Warring if he knew the birthday of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. The Congress MLA got embarrassed as he did not know the date of birth of Bhagat Singh.
“Kamal hai yaar tawanu aa vi nai pata (you don’t know when his birthday is. It’s on 28 September). On that day, we would celebrate his birthday in the whole state and teach kids with the help of cinematography,” Mann said.
A resolution to install the statues of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar was also passed in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday.
Appreciating Mann’s proposal, Congress MLA Pratap Singh Bajwa urged that the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh should also be installed. After this, the House passed a resolution on the installation of statues of Bhagat Singh, Dr BR Ambedkar, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the Assembly.
The CM urged the Speaker to discuss the Governor’s address in the next Assembly session so that the newly-elected MLAs can prepare themselves for it. The House approved Mann’s motion.
The chief minister said that his photographs will not be put up in any government office, but those of Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar will decorate the walls of government offices. Mann also announced to regularise all contractual posts in the state.
Earlier on March 19, Mann had held his first Cabinet meeting and approved filling up of 25,000 vacancies in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force. He announced the regularisation of 35,000 contractual posts of groups C and D in Punjab. Before this, the chief minister released a decision in a video message and said that the process of advertisement and notification for these jobs would be started within a month. He said that jobs will be given based on merit.