Polls near, CM Parkash Singh Badal unveils Rs 130 crore memorial

AMRITSAR: With elections around the corner, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is reaching out to the influential armed forces' voter base in Punjab. Chief minister and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal threw open the doors of the recently constructed, Rs 130-crore Punjab State War Heroes' Memorial and Museum to the public on Sunday.
Reaching out to defence personnel after inaugurating the museum that would be home to a 45-foot-hight sculpture of a sword, the highest in the world, Badal announced that the state government had set up a dedicated helpline in Chandigarh to redress the grievances of serving and former soldiers.“The helpline is exclusively meant for our soldiers,“ he said.
The CM went on to address a thinly attended rally at Amritsar's commercial hub Ranjit Avenue. At the rally, he congratulated the Army for the “surgical strikes“ it carried out across in the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “Army is fully prepared to tackle any aggression and misadventure by Pakistan,“ he said. When asked about the poor attendance at the rally, Badal said many people had come. “Bahut jayada log aye hoynay, tusi dekhae nai? (A lot of people have come. Did you not see?)“ he said.
Emphasizing on the need to extend basic courtesies to defence personnel and veterans, Badal asked deputy commissioners and senior superinten dents of police across the state to accord respect to them whenever they visit their offices.
However, the ex-servicemen who were invited to attend the function rued that the state government was yet to meet the promises it had made to them.
On the other hand, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal continued to claim that the drug menace in Punjab had been overblown by “anti-Punjab forces“. Union minister for state Vijay Sampla too spoke at the function. He spoke on the role played by Punjab as the sword arm of the country.
The building would have eight galleries, which would be dedicated to the history of India after the Mughal Empire.