Baba Bakala, Aug 2026 : On the sacred occasion of Rakhi Punnia today at Baba Bakala Sahib, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann transferred ₹181.50 crore to the accounts of another 5.30 lakh women as three months’ ‘Samman Rashi’ under the ‘Mawan-Dhiyan Satkar Yojana’, expressing his government’s commitment towards women. With this, the total number of beneficiaries has reached 70.92 lakh. The government is working on a large scale to bring one crore women under the ambit of this scheme, under which ₹51 crore has already been given as honorarium to 1.38 lakh ‘Satkar Sakhis’ who helped in registration, while ₹25 crore will also be given to Anganwadi workers.
Sharing some glimpses of the occasion, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann wrote on ‘X’: “Heartiest congratulations to all Punjabis on the sacred day of Rakhi Punnia from Baba Bakala Sahib. Fulfilling the promise made to sisters on Rakhi, today ₹181.50 crore has been sent as ‘Shagun’ to the accounts of 5.30 lakh women under the ‘Satkar Yojana’. So far, a total of 70.92 lakh mothers and sisters have benefited from this scheme. With 90 per cent of households receiving zero electricity bills, canal water reaching fields, 70,840 youths getting jobs and 882 students from government schools clearing the NEET examination, Punjab is once again moving firmly on the path of progress and emerging as the number one state.”
Addressing the gathering during the Rakhi Punnia function, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Many of today’s ‘Masands’ are holding rallies on this occasion to mislead people under the cover of religion. These criminal people are using religion to fool Punjabis, but Punjabis will not fall for their words. These present-day Masands are stooping to a low level by trying to gain sympathy from people by showing their wounds after the attack.”
He said, “The wise people of the state have shown the door to those leaders who lived in palaces during their days in power and never cared about ordinary people. The people have sent those who claim to have ruled for 25 years into political oblivion, and now they cannot even find 25 members to form a committee. The wise and brave people of the state have given such arrogant leaders a befitting reply for their misdeeds.”
Targeting the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Chief Minister said, “During their long misrule, the Akalis committed the sin of desecrating Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, protecting the culprits of this heinous crime and ordering firing on innocent people. Apart from hurting the sentiments of Punjabis and protecting several mafias, the Akalis ruthlessly looted the state. Every vote cast for the Akalis will be a verdict in favour of desecration. The Akali leadership can never be forgiven because they are responsible for ruining several generations of the state and the drug trade received protection during their rule.”
Launching a sharp attack on the Akali Dal, he said, “Even if the Prime Minister calls to enquire about the well-being of Akali leaders, they start dreaming of forming an alliance with Delhi to loot Punjab. It is true that Akali leaders have always been more concerned about their own interests than Punjab or Punjabis, whereas the Aam Aadmi Party is committed only to Punjab.”
He said, “To satisfy its hunger for power, the Akali Dal is now pleading for an alliance with the BJP, whose hands are stained with the blood of more than 700 farmers who were martyred during the protest against the black farm laws. The Akali-BJP alliance is without any ideology or public welfare, and its only objective is to capture power in the state. People will not fall for the misleading claims of these parties and will teach them a lesson in the coming days.”
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “The BJP may win in any state of the country, but it should never dream of winning from this land of great Guru Sahibs, saints, spiritual personalities, Peers, Prophets and martyrs. The people of the state are well aware of the BJP’s double character and they will certainly teach it a lesson. Punjabis can never forget how the BJP insulted the food providers of the state during the protest against the black farm laws. There is a long history of injustice and stepmotherly treatment by the BJP towards the state and its people.”
He said, “The BJP wants to deprive the state of Punjab University Chandigarh, Bhakra Dam, river waters and every legitimate right of Punjab. He further said that these people have withheld a major share of the grants due to the state in order to derail Punjab’s development. He said the BJP will not get even a single seat in the state because people are ready to teach them an appropriate lesson.”
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Instead of building castles in the air, the BJP leadership should remove the misconception that it will ever come to power in Punjab because its crimes against the state and its people are absolutely unforgivable. With what face will the BJP enter Punjab, especially when its leaders have never raised the issues of the state and its people? The fearless and wise people of the state will never forgive the BJP for its crimes, and these very people will politically wipe out the BJP from Punjab.”
Taking a jibe at the ongoing infighting in the Congress party, he said, “While its leaders are fighting among themselves for power for their narrow political interests, the state government is working tirelessly for the welfare of the people. He said our party does not fight among itself but makes tireless efforts to build a Rangla Punjab. The state’s fight is for quality education, good health and other welfare schemes, while Congress leaders, driven by their hunger for power, are fighting among themselves and cannot even look each other in the eye.”
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Congress has no agenda for the people and the state; its only objective is to capture power and loot the Punjab treasury, but its dreams will never be fulfilled. The Congress party is a divided house that will collapse because of its internal fight. It is a great irony that the senior Congress leaders who are coming to unite these leaders fighting for power do not even know the names of these Punjab leaders.”
He said, “Today has been specially chosen by the Chief Minister to give a Rakhi gift to the women of Punjab under the ‘Mawan-Dhiyan Satkar Yojana’. People across the world are witnessing the biggest social revolution in Punjab. There may hardly be any example of such a welfare scheme anywhere in the world where financial assistance is being provided for the empowerment of women. So far, 70.92 lakh women beneficiaries have received this gift from the Punjab government and today ₹181.50 crore has been released to 5.30 lakh beneficiaries who recently registered themselves.”
The Chief Minister stressed, “I am putting every breath of mine into ensuring the overall development of the state and various people-oriented initiatives are being undertaken by my government to raise the standard of living of the people. He said that unlike previous governments, I have not taken even a single penny from the government treasury; rather, I have continuously ensured that every penny of taxpayers’ money is spent thoughtfully for public welfare. I repeatedly tell the people that as their son and brother, my special focus is on sharing the pain and difficulties of my people, whereas, in contrast, leaders of previous governments were always busy living lives of luxury and comfort.”
He said, “More than 90 per cent of Punjab’s households are getting free electricity. Even farmers are now getting electricity during the daytime, which in itself is a major initiative of our government. He said that people’s tax money belongs to the people and we are spending it thoughtfully for their welfare. People’s money is returning to the people through development, schools, hospitals and roads. He said our government is working only for the welfare of the people, and has provided Punjabis with free electricity, jobs to more than 70,000 youths without corruption, better road connectivity, quality education, healthcare facilities, infrastructure development and several other important initiatives, whereas previous governments never paid attention to these things.”
The Chief Minister said, “The Aam Aadmi Party government is making tireless efforts for the development of villages and appropriate grants are being provided to village panchayats. To keep youths away from the curse of drugs, 3,100 sports stadiums are being built in the state. The AAP government has prioritised education and has taken revolutionary initiatives in the education sector to improve people’s standard of living. The ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ launched by our government has broken the backbone of the drug menace in the state, and we are committed to completely eliminating it.”
He said, “No free facility or card can eliminate poverty or other social evils; rather, education is the only key that can raise people’s standard of living and take them out of this cycle. Keeping this in mind, our government is making tireless efforts to raise the standard of education to empower the common man. Due to the concrete efforts of our government, Punjab has emerged as a leader in the field of education, leaving Kerala and other states behind, which is the result of the tireless efforts of the Punjab government, including teacher training programmes, Schools of Eminence and other initiatives undertaken by our government.”
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “In 2021, only 80 students from government schools had cleared the NEET examination, but in 2026 this number has increased 11 times to 882. He said this is the difference between our governance and those who never cared about schools and the education sector.”
The Chief Minister said, “For the first time in the history of Punjab, canal water has reached the fields of 1,587 villages, which had always remained deprived of it earlier. He said that 45,000 kilometres of roads are being repaired and renovated for the convenience of the residents of the state.”
He said, “It is a matter of great pride that our government has spent ₹7,200 crore to ensure that canal water reaches every field. He said that after our government came to power, the area under canal irrigation has increased from 26 per cent to 80 per cent, benefiting farmers on a large scale. To provide comprehensive healthcare facilities to the people, our government has launched the country’s first-of-its-kind scheme, ‘Mukhya Mantri Sehat Yojana’, which is providing free cashless medical treatment of up to ₹10 lakh to every resident family of Punjab. It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that Punjab is the first state in the country to provide such comprehensive health coverage, ensuring quality healthcare services for ordinary people while significantly reducing their financial burden for healthcare services.”
Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora, Dr Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and Hardeep Singh Mundian, Lok Sabha Member Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal and others were present on the occasion.
