|
Govt spends crores to bask in
martyr’s reflected glory
WSN Network
 KHATKAR KALAN:
India
calls him its iconic martyr. Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh has
inspired many a youth to take a path in life of one’s own
convictions. But when governments get into claiming martyrs as their
selling points and try to bask in reflected glory, they care little
for the value system that the martyrs stood for.
Applications
filed under India’s Right to Information Act have now brought out
that Government of India spent crores on September 27 last year for
a function to mark the conclusion of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s birth
centenary celebrations at ancestral village Khatkar Kalan.
NGO Human
Empowerment League of Punjab (HELP) has listed details of the
whopping expenditure. At the state-level function organised every
year at Khatkar Kalan on March 23 to commemorate the martyrdom of
Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, on the other hand, the
expenditure does not exceed Rs 1 lakh.
Prof Jagmohan
Singh, Bhagat Singh’s nephew, said his “Martyr’s Will” emphatically
warned against any lavish spending on him, ever. With this kind of
money Prof Jagmohan Singh said, functions could have easily been
organised in all educational institutions in the state across the
year for propagating the ideology of the martyrs. “There must be
some sort of honesty when it comes to celebrating the events
concerning martyrs at least.” HELP said Rs 1.49 crore was spent on
the stage, power supply light and , sound system, security and
sitting arrangements and printing of cards and brochures. Another Rs
1.12 crore was spent on the fee and boarding and lodging of
artistes. The expenditure on television and video production was Rs
18.53 lakh, while Rs 11.42 lakh was spent on advertisements and
banners. The hospitality charges were Rs 2.52 lakh and the transport
bill added up to Rs 4.56 lakh. An amount of Rs 5.34 lakh were sundry
charges incurred during the day-long function, attended by Union
Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Ambika Soni and Punjab Chief
Minister Parkash Singh Badal, among others.
The Union
government agreed to release Rs 3.15 crore and had given Rs 2.36
crore as the first instalment; the rest was to be released after
submission of details. The Deputy Commissioner was given Rs 10 lakh
for arrangements, of which Rs 5.22 lakh was spent and the rest
returned to the Punjab Arts Council, as per the information made
available. Out of Rs 75,000 released to Director, Youth Services,
Punjab, a
sum of Rs 47,920 was spent. As per the information, DTOs of
Jalandhar and Ludhiana and BDPO, Ropar, were given Rs 1.2 lakh each.
Money was also
lavishly spent at the inaugural functions of the yearlong centenary
celebrations, that began in
Amritsar in
September 2007. Then one company was given
Rs 1.76 crore to organise the functions at
Khalsa College
and Ranjit Avenue. A sum of Rs 16.72 lakh was spent on dresses for
participants and “mashaals” they carried, while
Rs 13.26 lakh was spent on boarding and lodging for the guests and
more than Rs 11 lakh on the installation of welcome gates and
illumination. Interestingly then too only Rs 1 lakh , was spent on
seminars on the life and philosophy of the martyrs.
7 January 2009
|
Read Also