Terming that only the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) represents the Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat in real sense, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that any new Akali Dal has no future in politics of the state.Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of the convocation of Government Medical College here today, the Chief Minister said that the Punjabis were well aware of the fact that every so called ‘offspring’ of the SAD was formed at the behest of those people who were vary to the interests of the state. He said that even the newly formed Akali Dal (United) would prove to be a total non-entity in the state politics as the people of state would completely reject it. Badal said that as such outfits were totally bereft of any ideological commitment, so they would have no impact on Punjab politics.
Recalling the glorious track record of the SAD in safeguarding the interests of Punjabis, the Chief Minister said that the people have reposed their faith in the pragmatic and pro-people policies of Akali Dal time and again. He said that the fact that the people have given their verdict to SAD for serving two premier institutions of Sikh Panth, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, reflects that how people recognize SAD as the only representative of the Punjab and Khalsa Panth. “Any new party can mushroom up in state but no one can match the commitment and dedication of SAD towards Punjab” added Mr. Badal.
Replying to another query, the Chief Minister categorically said that all the decisions regarding the state were taken by the SAD-BJP alliance jointly. He said that the Cabinet comprises of Ministers from both the alliance partners and there was hardly any scope of one sided decision by a partner of coalition.
Condoling the tragic incident of death of four new born babies in Ludhiana Hospital, the Chief Minister said that he had already ordered an enquiry into this unfortunate matter. Badal said that he had asked the officers to ascertain the causes and circumstances which led to this incident and submit the inquiry report. He said that if laxity was found on the part of any public servant in dealing with this incident then he/ she would not be spared and brought to book as per the law of the land.
When asked to comment on Bhagatanwala dump issue, the Chief Minister said that this issue would be solved amicably. Mr. Badal said that he had already asked the officers to find some mutually accepted solution for this vex problem.Earlier addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister reminded the students of the rich legacy of this apex Medical institute, which has produced seven out of the 11 Directors of the PGI, Chandigarh. He said that Government Medical College was the ‘Nursery of Medical Fraternity’ as it has produced several distinguished Doctors, who have proved their mettle in the field of Medical sciences.Listing the initiatives taken by the state government to emerge Punjab as a major hub of Super Specialty treatment across the globe, the Chief Minister said that the setting up of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Treatment and Research Center at Mullanpur (New Chandigarh) was a right step towards this direction.
Badal said that the state government has already made elaborate arrangements to provide state of the art treatment to the patients afflicted with the cancer in the Government Medical Colleges at Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot besides the upcoming ultra modern Cancer treatment centers in Bathinda and Sangrur. He further said that the state government had also initiated a cashless treatment scheme for the cancer patients besides making efforts to provide subsidized medicines to them. Likewise, the Chief Minister said that the state government had already declared a war on drugs and crores of Rupees were being spent on the establishment of Drug de-addiction centers and Rehabilitation centers for drug addicts across the state. Highlighting the significance of Skill training, Mr. Badal said that the state government was fully seized with the problem of growing unemployment and the only solution to tackle this menace, especially amongst the college/ school drop outs, was to impart Skill training in different fields to enable them to earn their livelihood. He said that the state government has set a target of training nearly one lakh youth annually under various skill development programs in order to cater the needs of the local industry.The Chief Minister further said that the state government was laying thrust on skilling the unemployed youth by imparting training in the fields of Healthcare and Para medics.
He said that it was a matter of great pride for Punjabis that Punjab has became the first ever state to ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in the Healthcare sector. Mr. Badal said that this MoU with NSDC’s arm Healthcare Sector Skill Council would open new vistas of employability for the Punjabi youth. On the occasion, the Chief Minister also gave a cash award of Rs 1 lakh to Dr Rajat Gupta who was honored with Gold Medal for outstanding academic performance.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Cabinet Minister Mr. Anil Joshi, his Advisor on Health and Medical Education Dr. KK Talwar, his Special Principal Secretary Mr. KJS Cheema and Secretary Medical Health and Research Mr. Hussan Lal.