Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann celebrates Holi with his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar; see pics

Punjab's newly elected Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday participated in 'Holi Milan Samaroh' at Haryana Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar were also present during the event. In the pictures tweeted by news agency ANI, Mann is are seen applying tika on Khattar's forehead. The Haryana CM was also seen reciprocating the ritual.

Earlier in the day, Mann addressed his maiden meeting after taking oath and urged the top officials of the state's civil and police administration to discharge their duties as public servants in the letter and spirit.

Giving an example of the Indian cricket team, the newly-elected chief minister said, "Matches are won or lost but it is the team spirit which matters. Our prime concern should be to make our state as real Punjab, not the London, California or Paris."

The AAP leader said that his government would not indulge in political vendetta and asked the entire state administration to discharge their duties fearlessly without any political pressure, unlike earlier regimes, with utmost dedication, sincerity and honesty to cherish the aspirations of the Punjabis who have voted AAP to power with the unprecedented verdict.

Attacking the previous governments in the state, Mann said, "I do not keep a red diary like the earlier political parties and have only green one so you need not worry about any vendetta." A day after Mann assumed office, the AAP-led Punjab government took the first step towards fulfilling the promises which it had made during the run-up to the state assembly polls - a corruption-free government.

Ensuring a corruption-free government, Mann announced that his government would launch a WhatsApp number on coming March 23 on the martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh exclusively for the public to upload videos of corrupt officials demanding bribes for their day to day works or indulging in other malpractices so that such erring officials could be given exemplary punishment.

Reiterating his commitment to making Punjab a model state, Mann said the foremost concern of his government would be to create abundant job opportunities for the youth to check the unfortunate trend of brain drain from the state to foreign shores.

He said, "This scenario has even forced the poor and hapless parents to sell off their properties for sending their wards abroad for better prospects to earn a livelihood." He promised his government would soon come up with a comprehensive action plan to generate tremendous job potential for the unemployed youth on top priority.

(With ANI inputs)

Published on: Thursday, March 17, 2022, 07:15 PM IST