DW BUREAU / Sangrur

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said his government would give only wheat to people under the "Ghar Ghar ration scheme" while asserting that beneficiaries only want the grain and not flour. The state had earlier decided that it would give wheat or flour to the beneficiaries.

Addressing a gathering at a state-level function here to mark the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Mann said he did not want to take any decision which was not in the interest of the people.

"We will now give wheat and not 'atta' (flour) for four months," he said, adding that this time, wheat would be given from July till October.

The chief minister said, "The public says it wants wheat only. We will give it. The regime runs as per the wishes of the people." There are around 1.54 crore beneficiaries of the "Ghar Ghar ration scheme" in the state.

Mann further said the state government will soon recruit 10,000 personnel for the Punjab Police and a notification in this matter has already been issued.

The Punjab government is committed to embarking on an era of reverse migration by empowering the youth, he said.

Lashing out at rival political parties, Mann said they were building castles in the air by claiming that his government was unstable and would fall soon. The AAP government will complete its tenure with the support of the people, he asserted.

About the rebellion in the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal, Mann said the party was in "dire straits and is on the verge of extinction".

People will never forgive the Akalis as they had committed the "unpardonable crime" of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib, he claimed.

Mann said he will not seek funds from the Centre for the development works.

Instead, the state will generate its own resources, he said and accused the BJP-led Centre of meting step-motherly treatment towards the state as the people of Punjab have not given even a single seat to the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

The chief minister said the state government will soon construct the Malwa Canal to cater to the needs of the farmers in the Malwa region of the state.

Mann asserted that his government was following the footsteps of Sher-E-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh to ensure the well-being of every strata of society.
(editor@dailyworld.in)