In a bid to mark the birth centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the Punjab Government has made elaborate plans to hold a national-level function in Amritsar on September 28.Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week to invite them for the celebration.The Union Government, which has sanctioned Rs 3 crore for the function, also plans to release a coin and a book on the martyr, besides introducing a chapter on him in CBSE textbooks. Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has also announced that it would re-name Nawan Shehar district as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and ensure that all the government stationery and advertisements would sport Bhagat Singh’s photo. A national implementation committee, formed under the chairmanship of Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh, has chalked out the programme. As part of the celebration, the Jallianwala Bagh will host an exhibition on the role of Bhagat Singh and his associates in the freedom struggle. Pakistan has already announced its intention to raise a memorial at the spot where Bhagat Singh was sent to the gallows in Lahore on March 23, 1923.
