Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday called the captain of Indian hockey squad Harmanpreet Singh and extended best wishes to him for the ensuing quarter final match in the ongoing Paris Olympics.
During the telephonic conversation, the chief minister bemoaned that he wanted to go to Paris and cheer for the Indian Hockey team live but the Union government has not given permission for it. He said that due to reasons best known to the centre government the political clearance was denied to him. Mann said he wanted to be with the Indian Hockey team during the match but will now have to see them live on TV.
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He further said that no matter they have been denied the permission but the entire country in general and Punjab in particular will be with the hockey heroes during this match. He expressed hope that the hockey team will script a new success story by bagging a gold medal for the country in the Paris Olympics.
Sharing some technical points of the game, the chief minister advised Harmanpreet to lay major thrust on mending the gap at centre from where maximum passes were made by Australian contingent during a recent match. He said that it is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that India had beaten the Australian team after a gap of 52 years.
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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab state general secretary and chairman of Punjab Mandi Board, Harchand Singh Barsat on Saturday condemned the denial of permission to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to visit France by the Central BJP government.
He said that by not allowing Mann to visit Paris Olympics, the Central government has not only insulted the three crore people of Punjab but also hurt their sentiments as most of the players in the Indian hockey team are from Punjab. This is equivalent to putting a stop to the fundamental rights of a constitutionally elected person, he held.
Alleging that stopping AAP leaders from going abroad is not new, Barsat said that earlier, the Modi government had also denied permission to AAP's national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to visit Singapore to study the education system there.
Despite the Indian hockey team, which has a majority of Punjabi players, being on a winning streak in the Paris Olympics, the denial of permission to Mann to visit Paris to boost the morale of the hockey team is another example of discrimination against Punjab, he said. He further held, the Central government had also discriminated against Punjab by not including Punjab's tableau in the Republic Day parade, not providing compensation to farmers and laborers affected by floods, stopping Punjab's farmers and laborers from going to Delhi, stopping Punjab's rural development fund and health mission fund, and not providing any help to Punjab in the Central budget.
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