Amid ongoing political tensions between Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP led Central government Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann visited Delhi on Wednesday and held meetings with two Union ministers to raise several key issues related to the state and during the visit Mann met Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Speaking after his meeting with Gadkari, Mann said that discussions were held regarding widening of state highways and upgrading of several roads into national highways and said Punjab government also raised concerns over delays in road construction projects including highways, bridges and culverts which have been affecting infrastructure development in the state.
Punjab Chief Minister thanked Union minister for assuring release of Rs 400 crore under CRIS fund for Punjab and according to Mann this amount will be used for maintenance and upkeep of roads and national highways across the state and also described the meeting as positive and said Centre’s support would help improve Punjab’s road infrastructure.
Mann also met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to discuss several agriculture related matters concerning Punjab especially ahead of paddy season which is set to begin from June 5 and after the meeting Mann said that detailed discussions took place regarding uninterrupted food grain supply and future farming plans in Punjab.
He said both Punjab government and Centre agreed on the need to promote crops that require less water and labour while still giving farmers good income and according to Mann crops such as maize, pulses, oilseeds, sunflower and millet will be encouraged in coming days as part of efforts to reduce dependence on water intensive crops.
CM further said that water conservation was also discussed seriously during the meeting and both governments were on same page regarding need to save groundwater in Punjab and state has been facing growing concerns over falling water levels due to excessive cultivation of paddy over the years and another important issue raised during the agriculture meeting was Punjab government’s proposed law against the sale of fake and substandard seeds.
The Punjab Assembly had passed The Seeds (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025 last year and the proposed law seeks to make sale of fake seeds a cognisable and non bailable offence and it also proposes strict punishment including imprisonment ranging from one to three years and fines of up to Rs 50 lakh for those found selling substandard seeds and since the law requires approval from Centre Mann discussed the matter with Chouhan during meeting.
Apart from this Punjab has also raised concerns regarding shortage of fertilisers ahead of paddy sowing season and state officials said this particular issue is important as farmers are preparing for upcoming agricultural cycle and Mann is also understood to have discussed the long pending release of Rural Development Fund which Punjab claims has not been released by Centre for several years.
These meetings come at a time when political relations between AAP and BJP have become increasingly tense in Punjab as over past few months both parties have been involved in a sharp political confrontation and this situation became more heated after seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs reportedly joined BJP last month and in addition raids by central agencies on ministers and officials have further intensified political atmosphere in state.
AAP leaders have repeatedly accused BJP led Centre of political vendetta while BJP has been aggressively trying to expand its political presence in Punjab and Chief Minister Mann has often led attacks against BJP during public speeches and political events.
During his interaction with media in Delhi Mann also commented on recent reports surrounding Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh which referred to speculation that Diljit was being pressured by BJP to join politics, Mann said the artist had clearly stated that he wanted to continue focusing on his work in entertainment industry and alleged that pressure was being created in other ways as well and referred to recent firing incident at residence of Diljit Dosanjh’s manager and without directly naming anyone, Mann said such politics should not be done. His remarks come amid ongoing political controversy surrounding firing incident and reactions from different political parties in Punjab.
