Describing Shaheed Sewa Singh Theekriwala as a great son of the soil, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the countrymen were enjoying the fruits of freedom just because of supreme sacrifices made by such legendary martyrs.Paying floral tributes to Shaheed Sewa Singh Theekriwala here on his 80th death anniversary, the Chief Minister said that these martyrs were a lighthouse for the people as they had sacrificed everything at the altar of the freedom struggle. He said that rather than bowing before the atrocities of erstwhile Kings and the British rule, Shaheed Sewa Singh Theekriwala preferred to lay down his life while fighting for the freedom. Mr. Badal said that the sacred land of Punjab had produced great freedom fighters like Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Udham Singh, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha and others who sacrificed their life for emancipating the country from the clutches of foreign imperialism.The Chief Minister said that Punjabis had inherited the trait of sacrifice from the Great Sikh Gurus who had taught them to rise against oppression, tyranny and injustice. He said Sri Guru Arjun Dev, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur and Sri Guru Gobind Singh laid down their lives for upholding human rights during their fight against inequality and injustice. Mr. Badal said that the brave Punjabis played a pivotal role in the national freedom struggle.On the occasion, the Chief Minister announced that the village would be developed as a Model village by the state government for which a meeting had been convened at Chandigarh on January 21. Acceding to the demand of the villagers to construct a separate High School for the girls in the village, Mr. Badal said that the approval to it would be given in the meeting of Cabinet schedule to take place tomorrow in Chandigarh.
The Chief Minister further said that the state government has taken path breaking initiatives to ensure the well being of every strata of the society. He said that the state government has started a number of pro-poor welfare schemes like Atta-Dal, Dr. Hargobind Khurana Scholarship, Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima and others to benefit the weaker and underprivileged sections of the society. Mr. Badal also announced that from the now onwards the small and marginal farmers of the state would also get the benefit of Atta-Dal scheme.Expressing concern over the pitiable condition of the farmers, the Chief Minister held the anti-farmer’s stance of the Congress led UPA government responsible for it. He said that the exorbitant hike in the agriculture inputs coupled with the non remunerative MSP have rendered agriculture as a non profitable venture. Mr. Badal said that due to the wrong policies of the Union government the farmers of the state were reeling under a huge debt.Later on interacting with the media persons, the Chief Minister said that the state government was committed to preserve the native house of Shaheed Sewa Singh Theekriwala as a monument adding that if the house was handed over to state government then proper care of it would be taken.The Chief Minister was accompanied by Secretary General of Shiromani Akali Dal and Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.