Ideas of India Summit 2023: Punjab has been playing a vital role in making India a self sufficient nation as "we are the biggest food-ball of the country," said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. Speaking at the second edition of ABP Network Ideas of India on "Reinventing Punjab: Beyond Guns and Drugs", Punjab CM stated that "whatever you sow will bear its fruits in Punjab except for the hatred."
"Ours is a border state, and around 531 km of our border is connected with Pakistan. Anti-social elements are every now and then induldging in some of the activities. Punjab is a very fertile land, it has the capability to grow anything except for the seeds of hatred," CM Mann stated.
"The social bonding among the people in the state is very strong that no one can deter it. People in Punjab wants peace. Punjabis are hard working people. We are global citizens. We are spread across the world. If you ask any person from Punjab, what does he wants? He will answer that he needs infrastructure, employment and such things," he further stated.
Targeting the media, the Punjab CM stated: "Like you, various channels are now runing 24*7. There is a particular segment, in which you run 100 news in 10 minutes. In that one news, becomes so big that other imp things are being neglected, and I can understands your reason behind that."
Asked about drone being used to smuggle drugs in the state, the Punjab CM stated: "All this has been happening since earlier, and to counter this, the Punjab Police walks hand-in-hand with BSF. Almost daily, we are capturing the drones, and drugs as well has gangsters are being held by the state police."
"In order to counter the drug problem, recently we had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In the meeting, we requested the MHA to provide us with an anti-drone technology. There are a lot of cases, in which we confiscates drugs and ammunition from the drones which belonged to India and were used in smuggling via Pakistan. Like cars, bikes, and other vehicles, if the registration for the drones will also take place, than it will become easier for us to get to the person behing such operations," he said.
CM Mann listed three layers through which the Punjab government is working to eardicate the drug problem from its roots, with first getting all the distributor and suppliers of drugs out of the picture, and secondly by establishing rehablitation center for addicted youth. The third and most important is by providing employment opportunities for youth.
The second edition of the ABP Network "Ideas of India Summit", which commenced today and will continue till February 25, takes place at a time of global geopolitical tensions and with just a year to go for the general elections in India. The theme for this year's summit is 'Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out', and will see several business icons, cultural ambassadors, and politicians sharing their views.
The second edition of the ABP Network Ideas of India Summit will see personalities like Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Ashwani Vaishnaw, actors Asha Parekh and Ayushmann Khurana, and authors Amitav Ghosh and Devdutt Pattanaik deliberate on what constitutes 'Naya India'.