Congress government trying to delay Punjab AIIMS project
Chandigarh, Aug 4 : Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday said the Congress government in Punjab was deliberately delaying commissioning of the Rs 925 crore AIIMS project at Bathinda by refusing to give statutory approvals and making the site encumbrance free only because of petty political considerations.
In a statement here, the Union Minister said the Congress government, led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, got jittery when the Union Health Ministry recently announced that it would start construction on the site in June this year and start an OPD (out patient department) for diagnostics in February, 2019.
"It seems start of medical facilities for the people of the region was not to the liking of the Congress government which felt the SAD-BJP alliance would get political credit for the same (before the 2019 general elections). It is a shame that the people of the Malwa region are being denied advanced medical care, including much needed cancer treatment, because of such despicable anti-people thinking of the Congress party," Badal, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Bathinda constituency, said.
The centre had earlier sanctioned the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Bathinda, around 230 km from here.
"There could be no other reason for the deliberate go-slow tactic of the Congress government despite the fact that I had repeatedly written letters detailing approvals and civil works needed to start construction on the 177 acre AIIMS project site. Now, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has also again written a letter to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asking him to personally intervene to make the AIIMS project a reality," she pointed out.
Badal said that despite the follow-up by the health ministry, the Punjab government was not according the necessary approvals which would lead to delay in completion of the prestigious project for the Malwa belt, which was affected by cancer and other diseases.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
