Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday exhorted the top brass of state civil and police administration to discharge their duties as public servants in the letter and spirit, thus respecting the massive mandate got by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the recently concluded Assembly polls.

Addressing a maiden meeting after assuming charge as Chief Minister at CMO this afternoon, Mann said,” The people who have given us an opportunity to serve the state are the real rulers in the democracy having the power to make the leaders rule or show them the door,”.

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Taking a cue from the performance of Indian cricket team, Mann said, “Matches are won or lost but it is the team spirit which matters.” Therefore, he urged the officers to display team spirit immaculately to make Punjab as the frontrunner state. “Our prime concern should be to make our state as real Punjab, not the London, California or Paris,” he said.

The CM said his government would not indulge in political vendetta and asked the entire state administration to discharge their duties fearlessly without any political pressure, unlike earlier regimes, with utmost dedication, sincerity and honesty to cherish the aspirations of the Punjabis who have voted AAP to power with unprecedented verdict. “I don’t keep red diary like the earlier political parties and have only green one so you need not worry about any vendetta,” he added.

Appreciating the enormous capabilities and capacities of both civil and police officers, Mann said, “I expect you to respect the common man and in turn we would too give you respect and due recognition in exhibiting the real spirit of being a public servant,”. Without mincing any word, he said, “Corrupt officers have no place in my government and if any such complaint comes to my notice, then don’t expect any sort of sympathy for such officers,”.

Ensuring a corruption-free government, Mann announced that his government would launch a WhatsApp number on coming 23 March on the martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh exclusively for public to upload videos of corrupt officials demanding bribe for their day to day works or indulging in other malpractices so that such erring officials could be given an exemplary punishment.
Breaking the tradition, the CM also announced to reward both civil and police officers with ‘Best Performance Award’ quarterly for making a difference in the lives of common man at the grassroots level besides ensuring free and fair justice to one and all to boost their morale.

He hoped this initiative would surely motivate the other officers to perform far better and efficiently. The CM also directed the Director-General of Police to send a congratulatory message addressing to the family members of all police employees on the birthday with a sense of belongingness.

Reiterating his commitment to make Punjab as a model state, Mann said the foremost concern of his government would be to create abundant job opportunities for our youth to check the unfortunate trend of brain drain from our state to foreign shores.

“This scenario has even forced the poor and hapless parents to sell off their properties for sending their wards abroad for better prospects to earn livelihood,” he said, adding his government would soon come up with a comprehensive action plan to generate jobs for unemployed youth.