Raise tricolour on May 1 to protest against Centre's discrimination: Punjab Cong asks people

The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) on Tuesday asked people in the state to raise the Tricolour on the rooftop of their homes on May 1 to protest against the Centre's alleged discrimination against non-BJP-ruled states in the matter of extending support in the fight against COVID-19.

The idea was mooted by PPCC president Sunil Jakhar and was seconded by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, at the video-conference with party MLAs.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the state was losing Rs 3,360 crore monthly in revenue as a result of the pandemic and the lockdown/curfew and the state would end up with a loss of almost Rs 50,000 crore in a year. "The state, however, has received no help so far from the Centre to tackle the crisis," he added.

The event, coinciding with May Day (Labour Day), will serve to underscore the right of Punjab to central aid in this unprecedented crisis, said Jakhar. "Punjab is an integral part of India and the Central Government cannot discriminate against us," he said, asserting that the party would demand Rs 20 crore as immediate relief to support the state's efforts to combat the COVID crisis.

The PPCC chief further said the event will also be a mark of solidarity with the farmers, workers and all Coronawarriors who were battling the crisis from the front.

Terming it as a case of "seeking our right", Jakhar said Punjab was not begging for anything but merely asking for its rightful share. In any case, he said, what Punjab was asking the central government was peanuts compared with what many other states had demanded.

Jakhar said the party would orgze the national flags for all those participating in the May 1 event.

( With inputs from ANI )