CHANDIGARH: Recognising the outstanding services of the Punjab Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (GOI), on the eve of 74th Republic Day announced the names of the Punjab Police officers/officials, to be awarded President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (PPMDS) and Police Medal for Meritorious Service (PMMS).
Three IPS officers including Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Provisioning and Modernisation G Nageswara Rao, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Amritsar Mohnish Chawla and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sri Muktsar Sahib Opinderjit Singh Ghuman have been awarded President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
Similarly, an IPS officer Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ferozepur Range Ranjit Singh, and four PPS officers including Commandant RTC PAP Jalandhar Mandeep Singh, ADCP City-2 Amritsar Prabhjot Singh Virk, DSP Vigilance Bureau Unit Sangrur Parminder Singh and DSP CID Unit Sangrur Charanpal Singh, are among 15 officers/officials who have been selected for the Police Medal for Meritorious Service. The remaining officials include Inspector Tajinder Singh, Inspector Harjinder Singh, SI Daljit Singh, SI Jagtar Singh, SI Baljit Kaur, SI Jugal Kishore, ASI Raj Kumar, ASI Jaspal Singh, ASI Rakesh Chopra, and ASI Piara Singh.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav, while congratulating the awardees, expressed gratitude to the Central Government and State Government for recognizing the services of these officers and boosting the morale of the entire Punjab Police force. He said that such recognition plays a significant role in encouraging the Police force to work with more dedication and devotion, which is very much required in a border state having manifold security challenges.
The Chief Minister said that though the selection committee even appreciated the ideas but it is disheartening that the people of this great country along with the whole world will be bereft from the rich cultural and historical tribute, which Punjab will have showcased. He recalled that Punjabis had made enormous sacrifices to free our motherland from its yoke of British imperialism. Bhagwant Mann said that despite of being merely two percent of the country’s population 80% of the martyrs either executed or exiled during the freedom movement were Punjabis.
The Chief Minister said that even after independence the Punjabis have been instrumental in the prosperity and overall development of the country besides safeguarding the borders of the nation from the external aggressions. He said that the state government wanted to showcase this stellar role of Punjabis in the freedom struggle through the Tableau. Bhagwant Mann bemoaned that the Union government had hatched a conspiracy by not allowing Punjab to showcase its achievements to the world.
The Chief Minister lamented that though the country is celebrating 75th year of its independence but due to reasons best known to them, the Union government is skeptical of those patriots who have steered the country to freedom. He said that this reflects the myopic mindset of the BJP led government which is at the helms of the affairs in the country. Bhagwant Mann said that the BJP government is probably hesitant to reflect the contribution of the state in the national freedom struggle.
The Chief Minister said that it is ironical that only BJP ruled states have been allowed to participate in the Republic Day parade from North India. He said that non-BJP ruled states especially Punjab and Delhi have been deliberately kept out of the parade by the BJP. Bhagwant Mann said that this type of discriminatory treatment with Punjab and Punjabis is highly condemnable and intolerable.