Expressing happiness over the decision of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to lay the foundation of Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital at Mullanpur near Chandigarh on December 30, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today said that it was a result of persistent efforts made by the state government.Addressing a mammoth gathering after laying down the foundation stone of Special School here today, the Chief Minister said that the hospital would prove to be a big boon for the cancer patients of the state to avail quality cancer treatment facilities. He said that they have been repeatedly pursuing this matter with the Government of India (GoI) so as to ensure that this project was approved by it. Mr. Badal said that likewise the state government has also taken a number of other initiatives to facilitate the cancer patients in the state. Exhorting the people to make up their mind for electing Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of country, the Chief Minister said that it was required for development of the country in general and state in particular. Reiterating that Congress was not having any leader of Mr. Modi’s stature, he said that the Congress was afraid of Gujarat Chief Minister due to which it was shying away from declaring its Prime Ministerial candidate. Mr. Badal said that only few months were left for the voters to take a decisive decision, which would either make or mar the future of the nation.
Lashing out at the Congress led UPA government at the centre, the Chief Minister said there was hardly any government in the country due to which the woes of the people have been accentuated. Squarely blaming the Congress for problems faced by the countrymen, he said that due to wrong policies of the Union government the nation was today confronting a number of social maladies like inflation, corruption, poverty, unemployment, starvation and others. Mr. Badal said that for changing the destiny of the nation it was necessary that Mr. Modi was elected as the Prime Minister of the country.The Chief Minister said that the Congress party has always meted out step motherly treatment to the state by depriving it of its capital, legitimate river waters share and Punjabi speaking areas. Likewise, Mr. Badal said that the wrong and discriminatory policies of the union government have ruined the agriculture and industry of the state. However he said that despite of all odds Punjab has excelled in almost every field and it was leading the country in fields of education, health and infra structure.
Highlighting the significance of the Special schools, the Chief Minister said that these six schools to be set up by the state government across Punjab would impart free boarding and lodging facilities to the bright students securing more than 80% marks from the government schools. He said that with the starting of these schools quality education would be made available even to the disadvantaged and weaker sections of society. Mr. Badal said that these schools would be a big boon to the students from this strata of society as they would be able to compete with their convent educated peers after getting education in these schools.
Earlier interacting with the media persons, the Chief Minister said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was open with the idea to contest elections on Lok Sabha seats even outside the state. He said that the SAD’s success rate outside the state had been very high as it has won majority of seats contested by it. Mr. Badal said that the voters outside the state have reposed their faith time and again in the pro-people and development oriented policies of the SAD therefore they were not averse to the idea of contesting the Lok Sabha seats even outside the state. “However we will take the final call on this issue after thorough discussions with BJP, our alliance partner at the national and state level” he added.Replying to another query, the Chief Minister said that the ‘Fateh Rally’ of Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, which was slated to take place later this month, has been cancelled due to the poor weather conditions. He said that the dense fog in the region would have made the movement of the VIPs as well as the people difficult in the area due to which the rally has been postponed. When asked to comment on the ongoing rift between management and staff of PIMS, the Chief Minister said that the issue would be sort out very soon.The Chief Minister was accompanied by Cabinet Ministers Mr. Chunni Lal Bhagat, Mr. Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Mr. Sikander Singh Maluka and Mr. Ajit Singh Kohar, Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Mr. KD Bhandari and Mr. Pawan Teenu, MLAs Mr. Manoranjan Kalia, Mr. Pargat Singh and Mr. Gurpartap Singh Wadala, his Special Principal Secretary Mr. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Commissioner Police Mr. Ishwar Singh and Deputy Commissioner Mr. Varun Roojam.