By
Punjabnewswire4u
CHANDIGARH,
MARCH 11
Reiterating the firm commitment of the SAD-BJP government to
protect the honour and dignity of women, Punjab Governor Shivraj V Patil today
said that the state government stands for the establishment of a society based
on total gender equality and a place of high respect and dignity for women.
Addressing the members of Punjab Vidhan Sabha in his
inaugural address for the fourth session of the state assembly, the Governor
expressed concern of the state government over the continuing ignominy and
sufferings inflicted on the pious and brave womenfolk. He said that the state
government was inspired by the message of the great Gurus, saints and seers for
the establishment of a society which was committed not only to ensure an
atmosphere of total safety and security for life and honour of women but also
for working decisively and purposefully for giving them a leading role in
different spheres of social and professional life. Mr. Patil said that to
ensure the safety and dignity of girls and women in Punjab, the
state Government had already issued strict instructions that all cases
pertaining to women in the police stations would be handled by members of the
lady police adding that instructions have also been issued that the women would
not be called to the Police Stations and if required they must be examined at
their residence in the presence of their family member and lady police.
The Governor said that efforts were afoot for increasing the
strength of the lady police for which a total of 3233 lady constables had been
recruited so far and another 1200 lady constables besides 338 lady SI’s would
be recruited in next three years. Likewise he said that 20 dedicated
courts had also been approved for speedy trial of cases related to crime
against women in the state.
The Governor said that maintaining peace and harmony in
these changing times poses the greatest challenge to any elected government and
at a time when several parts of the country were witnessing growing levels of
unrest and agitation, Punjab stands out as an oasis of peace and communal
harmony, despite the great locational disadvantage of being a border state with
a long and active border and its proximity to the international narco- terror
transit zone. Mr. Patil said, “I am glad to say that my Government, which
accords the highest priority to peace and communal harmony, has always been
able to ensure the best law and order situation in the country”.
Emphasizing that the maintenance of peace and harmony
requires a multi-dimensional approach, the Governor said that the state
government had been urging the Government of India (GoI) to remove the
fundamental causes behind the social unrest in many states through concrete
political and economic initiatives.
The Governor further said that the state government had
always advocated for building a strong, progressive and federal India, with its
firm belief that strong states mean a strong nation. He said that the founding
Fathers of our Constitution were fully aware of the vast diversities that run
through the rich texture of Indian identity therefore they believed that both
the regional aspirations and nationalist sentiments must complement each other.
However Mr. Patil said that unfortunately, over the years, this federal spirit
of the Founding Fathers’ has been diluted and there has been a
progressive erosion of powers given to the states in the Constitution therby
sacrificing the federal impulse to create a unitary structure and reducing the
states to mere beggars at the doors of the center. He said that the states were
directly accountable to the people for all their needs of development and
better quality of life due to which they were in the best position to
understand and address the problems of the people at the cutting edge.
Therefore Mr. Patil said that states should be given a free hand in choosing
and financing development priorities of their regions. Central schemes were
generally made without any reference to the varied needs of different states
and of different regions within the same state, he added.
The Governor said that his government demands that the
formula for devolution of funds be recast in favour of states and that funds be
allotted to them for spending on state specific requirements
and plans, adding that states should be given 50% share in revenue
collected from states.
The Governor said that the state government was deeply
concerned about the specific issues on which Punjab has faced discrimination
and injustice at the hands of some central governments. He said that first of
all, Punjabis were denied their legitimate right to have a state formed on the
basis of their linguistic identity and finally, when it was formed after a long
and tough struggle with countless sacrifices, it was discriminated against
through the exclusion of vast Punjabi speaking areas. Mr. Patil said the
Capital City of Punjab, Chandigarh, was too was denied to the state and it has
still not been transferred to Punjab even 47 years after it was decided that it
would go to the state. The Governor bemoaned that even the sacred commitments
about the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab made by the Government of India in
July-August 1985 on the floor of the two houses of the Parliament had yet not
been honoured. Mr. Patil reiterated that Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking
areas should be transferred to the state immediately.
The Governor further said that even the state had been meted
out a grave injustice in the river waters issue despite of the fact that
Punjab’s farmers have been coming to the rescue of the nation and upheld its
honour in the comity of nations whenever it has faced food shortages. He said
that in the process of making the country self reliant in food production the
farmers of state have sacrificed the only two natural resources that they had:
soil fertility and sub-soil water as a result of which major parts of the state
face the specter of turning into a desert if immediate correctives were not
applied. He said, “Punjab seeks no favours; it only demands that its natural
and constitutional right on river waters be protected as per the nationally and
internationally accepted Riparian Principle”.
Asserting that in India, this principle has been violated
only in the case of Punjab, the Governor said that for the same reason, his
government was opposed to any national river water policy that was framed in
violation of the Riparian Principle.
The Governor further said that the economy of the state,
especially its industry, had suffered immensely because of concessions given by
the Government of India to the neighbouring states of Punjab. He said that the
state government has kept requesting that to offset this disadvantage
either the same concessions be extended to Punjab also for a similar or
same length of period as given to the neigbouring states or state should be
compensated with an adequate and just financial package. Mr. Patil
further said that the state Government demands that in all fairness and in
keeping with the demands of justice, the center should give a liberal and
comprehensive compensatory economic package to Punjab so that the damage
suffered by its economy because of GoI’s decision may be repaired.
The Governor said that apart from injustice on the economic
and political fronts, the people of the state have suffered grievous blows to
their religious psyche also. He said that the brutal and inhuman massacre of
innocent Sikhs in November in Delhi and some other parts of the country in 1984
still remains a huge blot on the conscience of the nation. Mr. Patil said that
the guilty had still not been punished and many of them had in fact been
rewarded with positions of power and honour by the Government of India. The
Governor said that his government demands exemplary punishment to the guilty
and comprehensive relief to families that suffered in this dark period. He
lamented that it was really a matter of disgrace that even 28 years after the
tragedy struck thousands of innocents, the victims still await for justice and
relief.
The Governor said that they had been demanding major
inputs to boost the farm and industrial economy of the state which has suffered
major blows in the service of the nation. He said that Agricultural production
and growth have reached a point of stagnation and it needs a major push to kick
start farm economy adding that one of the ways to achieve this target was to
make major investments in the field of crop diversification. Mr. Patil said
that his government had been demanding a comprehensive economic package of Rs.
5000 crores for diversification in Green Revolution States.
Thanking the people for the historic back-to-back
mandate for the SAD-BJP alliance government, the Governor said that the
alliance received this mandate on the basis of their commitment to
peace, communal harmony, overall inclusive development and good
governance plus due to the fact that they shirked the conventional politics of
confrontation and mutual mudslinging by focusing on a positive vote for
performance. Mr. Patil said that this verdict has altered the political mindset
of the state adding that no government would now dare to go to the people
without having a definite report card of the work done by it. He said, “In
other words, through its bold political decision, my government has made
accountability and transparency the cornerstone of the democratic process in
the state. After a long, long time, democracy has acquired its true
substance as a system of governance of the people, by the people and for the
people’.
The Governor said that the latest evidence of the fact that
the people of the state were convinced and satisfied with the sincerity of
purpose of state government was provided by the resounding verdict in its favor
in the just conducted by-election to the Moga constituency, in which the alliance
not only secured the seat but also substantially improved on the size of the
popular mandate. Mr Patil said that the faith which the people have in the
policies and programmes of the alliance partners, individually and
together, was so strong now that they have swept every election they have
contested, be it the Vidhan Sabha Elections or the Lok Sabha poll.
The Governor further said that somewhat away from their
legitimate governmental duties but in pursuit of their commitment to peace
harmony and service of the people, the alliance received thumping verdict from
the Sikh masses in elections to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee
(SGPC) and the Delhi Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). These
victories confirmed the view that people of all communities fully back them in
the ideals that the alliance pursue, he added.
Reiterating the commitment of state Government to the
maintain and promote peace and communal harmony, providing good governance,
ensuring inclusive growth and taking development to the doorsteps of the people
who have reposed unprecedented faith in re-electing this government, the
Governor said that the state Government has dared to dream big for the people
of this great state. He said that in the pursuit of this dream, the Government
was clear in its vision, firm in its resolve and sure of its feet.
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