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Journalism of Courage
IN AN apparent goof-up, Punjab government Sunday published a full-page advertisement in some newspapers with photographs of two senior citizens along with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, terming them as beneficiaries of its old age pension scheme. It, however, turned out that one of them, Shaila Singh, of Kaler village in Faridkot, who is shown to be claiming that government raised old age pension from Rs 250 to Rs 500 per month, is yet to get any pension.
Rather, he has so far sent four applications to the district administration’s office requesting to start his pension but to no avail. Village sarpanch Mela Faridkot villager yet to get pension, but govt ad shows him as beneficiary
Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, state general secretary of PPCC and a Faridkot resident, said, “This only shows the hollow claims of development by the state government. They are spending money on ads and doing nothing.”
Shaila Singh and others said the government had no right to publish his photograph and that now they should clear his application.
When contacted, deputy commissioner, Faridkot, M S Jaggi said,” I am not aware of any such photograph.”
Senu Duggal, director, public relations, said, “It is just a symbolic picture and we have not mentioned the name of any person. We have also not mentioned that we have given pension to this person. We have only stated that old age pension money has doubled.”
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