Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday assailed the Congress party for backstabbing the Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar, a great statesman and an icon of weaker sections of society, by diluting the federal structure of polity as enshrined by Baba Sahib in the Indian constitution.
Badal, addressing the gathering during a State-level function to mark the 124th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, said that in order to ensure holistic development of the States and the country, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution Baba Sahib had taken due care for enshrining the federal structure of polity in the Indian constitution.
“However, for their own vested interests, the Congress leadership from time-to-time diluted this very fundamental principle of the Indian Constitution thereby deceiving Dr BR Ambedkar. The net result of Congress’ sinister move is that the country is today facing a large number of social maladies like unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and others,” he said.
The Chief Minister hoped that with the formation of NDA Government at the Centre, the unfulfilled dreams of Dr Ambedkar would soon be realised. “The formation of NITI Aayog at the Centre by scrapping the Planning Commission of India (PCI) is the first move towards realizing the dream of federal India as envisioned by Dr Ambedkar…The NDA is duty bound to cherish the aspirations of Dr Ambedkar, who dedicated his entire life for the service of humanity,” added Badal.
Striking an emotional chord with the gathering, Badal said that whenever the people of Punjab have bestowed upon him the responsibility of serving the State, his Government has accorded top priority to ensure the welfare of weaker sections of the society.
“The pro-poor schemes like Shagun, Atta-Dal, Mai Bhago Istri Vidtya Scheme and others have been launched by his Government, for safeguarding the interests of these strata of the society,” he said while assuring that his Government would continue to make such endeavours.
He said that to open new vistas for the children of weaker sections of the society, the State Government has been laying special thrust on imparting quality education to them. “Apart from upgrading infrastructure in all Government schools, six new schools have been opened for bright students of the weaker sections, who secure 80 per cent or more marks in matric in Government schools,” he said.
Badal said that the State Government was providing free education to these students along with boarding and lodging facilities. He also exhorted the Valmiki community to become an integral part of the State’s ongoing development by extending fulsome support to the SAD-BJP alliance. “The State Government is making concerted efforts for the state’s overall development which could only yield positive results with the active support and cooperation of the people, especially from the weaker sections of the society,” he said.
Announcing a grant of Rs20 lakh for the construction of Ambedkar Bhawan in Ferozepur district, the Chief Minister announced that such bhawans would be constructed across the State. “Though such bhawans have been constructed in most of the districts, the remaining one would be covered soon,” he said.