Bathinda: Amid Punjab govt’s rollout of welfare schemes, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday was confronted by an unusual demand during a ‘Lok Milni’ at Chandbhan village in Faridkot district.As Mann was telling women that the cash assistance scheme for them was just two days away, a man interrupted him with a plea that “chharas” (unmarried men) above the age of 40 should also receive financial assistance.The request drew laughter from the gathering, and Mann responded in the same vein. “We’ll have to think about a Mukh Mantri Chhara Yojana,” he quipped. Pointing towards the man, the chief minister said his concern deserved consideration and joked that officials would be asked to examine the proposal as many villages had unmarried men above the age of 40.The exchange triggered laughter among the audience before Mann resumed his address, assuring women that the wait for the scheme would end on Wednesday.Targeting the opposition, Mann said it was interested only in filling its own coffers rather than Punjab’s welfare. Naming SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, he accused them of working against the state’s interests.He reiterated the opposition had tried to malign him through a “fake” video, but claimed the large turnout at his Lok Milni programmes reflected public support. Earlier, Mann inaugurated 500 sports gyms under the Mukh Mantri Khed Gym Project at Chandbhan in the presence of Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan.
