First NRI Sangat Darshan off to cold start

Faridkot, The first NRI Sangat Darshan that was organised in Moga today evoked lukewarm response with a mere 170 complainants turning up for the event from eight districts.

The NRI Sangat Darshan, which has replaced the extravagant NRI Sammelan, is a new endeavour of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to interact with the Punjabi diaspora and redress their grievances.

The NRIs from the districts of Moga, Bathinda, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Mansa, Muktsar and Barnala were expected to participate in the event. Besides the Chief Minister, a battery of senior officers from the police and civil departments were present.

Of all the complaints, 119 were from Moga alone. From Muktsar, the Chief Minister’s home district, there was only one complaint. Mansa, Barnala, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Faridkot and Bathinda had two, five, four, 14, 15 and 10 complaints, respectively.

Of all the complaints, 66 related to police cases and 104 were of property disputes.

Tota Singh, Punjab NRI Affairs Minister and a senior Akali leader from Moga, played an instrumental role in organising the Sangat Darshan.

Badal said the Sangat Darshan was a paradigm shift from the earlier practice of holding annual NRI Sammelans. He said the aim was to make direct interface with the NRIs to solve their problems on the spot in the presence of the government top brass.

The next NRI Sangat Darshan would be organised at Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

Unpaid for 8 months, MGNREGA workers question special treatment for NRIs

A large number of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers on Sunday organised a protest outside a marriage palace in Moga where the Chief Minister was holding the NRI Sangat Darshan
The protesters were demanding clearance of their eight-month dues worth Rs15 crore
Jagroop Singh, CPI national council member, led the protesters. “It is ridiculous that while the Chief Minister is promising the NRIs an instant solution for their problems, the poor workers are being made to struggle even for their legitimate dues,” said Jagroop.