Bathinda: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday used his Lok Milni programme here to highlight his govt’s proposed cash assistance scheme for women and launch a fresh attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal president, Sukhbir Singh Badal.Addressing a gathering at Mandi Kalan village, Mann asked women to keep their mobile phones close on July 1, claiming that beneficiaries would receive the cash assistance for three months in one go — Rs 1,000 a month for women from the general category and Rs 1,500 a month for those from the Scheduled Caste category.The CM also targeted Sukhbir Singh Badal over relief distributed in the flood-hit villages last year. He alleged that the money came from offerings made by devotees at gurdwaras managed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Mann said Sukhbir attempted to derive political mileage from it.The CM said instead of waiting for another chance to rule Punjab, the SAD chief should prepare “for his turn to go to jail with his brother-in-law (Bikram Singh Majithia)”.Farmers-police showdownRepresentatives of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) and the Krantikari Kisan Union had a showdown with the police after they were stopped from proceeding to Mandi Kalan, where the CM was holding the Lok Milni programme.The farmers said they wanted to meet Mann to raise issues regarding the demolition of the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites and to seek compensation for tractor-trailers and other belongings allegedly stolen from the protest sites.Farmer leaders claimed that they had been assured of an audience with the CM at the helipad but were prevented from approaching the venue. They said the police stopped them at Bhundar village and used force when some protesters tried to move ahead after toppling the barricades.
