Akal Takht Sahib is above all of us- Mann
Majitha (Amritsar), January 18 -Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann delivering a message on faith, governance and the future of the constituency while laying the foundation stone for 23 rural link roads worth ₹11.32 crore. The Chief Minister said it would have given him heartfelt happiness if the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) President, Harjinder Singh Dhami, considered himself as a soldier of Sri Guru Gobind Singh, but expressed concern that he instead calls himself a soldier of Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Addressing the public gathering, the Chief Minister announced that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Talbir Singh Gill will be the party’s candidate from Majitha for the 2027 Assembly elections, asserting that the people will not allow any attempt to push Punjab back into beadbi (sacrilege) and goondagardi, and that development, dignity and respect for Sri Akal Takht Sahib will remain paramount.
After laying the foundation stone of 23 new rural link roads in Majitha, Mann said, “Earlier, this area lived under constant fear. A self-proclaimed ‘jarnail’ of the region used false cases as a weapon against ordinary people. With deep connections in both Congress and Akali governments, he unleashed a reign of terror, and people were afraid to speak.”
He added that it was due to the misdeeds of the Akalis and the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) that the state government was compelled to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the missing 328 saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. “Our only objective is to trace the missing saroops. We have no intention of interfering in religious institutions,” he said.
The Chief Minister reiterated the supremacy of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and said, “Akal Takht Sahib is above all of us. That is why I did not attend the function of the President of India and chose instead to appear before the Takht.” He said that unlike his government, the Akalis have repeatedly undermined the authority of Akal Takht Sahib. “Jathedars have been appointed and removed at their whims, dealing a severe blow to the sanctity of these institutions,” he said, while also remarking that Congress leaders have lost their political balance after facing continuous defeats.
The Chief Minister said that special attention is being paid to the welfare of border residents, whom he described as true patriots. “In a major relief to farmers in the border belt, the Central Government has given in-principle approval to shift the border fence closer to the International Border,” he said, adding that this would allow unhindered cultivation of thousands of acres currently lying beyond the fencing. He said he had raised the issue with the Union Home Minister, pointing out the daily hardships faced by farmers who were forced to cross the fence under BSF escort to reach their own fields along the 532-kilometre India-Pakistan border.
The Chief Minister said that the renewal of 23 rural link roads in the Majitha constituency will be carried out at a cost of ₹11.32 crore. “Projects worth ₹11.32 crore have been initiated for the renovation of link roads in several villages of Majitha constituency. Out of this, ₹9.94 crore will be spent on road renovation and ₹1.38 crore on their maintenance over the next five years. These roads were in a deplorable condition, causing immense inconvenience to commuters and farmers transporting their produce to markets,” he said, expressing confidence that their upgradation would significantly benefit residents of Majitha and surrounding areas.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the Punjab government has launched a massive programme to repair and upgrade link roads across the state. “Punjab has nearly 43,000 kilometres of link roads. Along with repairing them, we have taken a historic decision to ensure their maintenance for the next five years,” he said. To ensure quality, he said a CM Flying Squad has been constituted, and an Artificial Intelligence-based survey was conducted before granting approvals, leading to savings of ₹226.89 crore.
