Sandip Dighe
The allocation of Rs 8 crore for the restoration of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s ancestral house, school and his village in Pakistan’s Punjab province has raised the hopes of another martyr’s family.
The family members of martyr Rajguru, who too was hanged to death along with Bhagat Singh, are now hopeful that the Central Government will take cognizance of the precarious condition of Rajguru’s wada and will allocate funds for it in future.
Local political leaders and members of the NGO Rajguru Sudhar Samiti, who look after Rajguru’s ancestral home, have criticised the Centre saying that it has neglected the contribution of Rajguru.
Speaking to dna, great grandson Satyasheel Rajguru said, “We are happy that the government allocated money for Bhagat Singh’s family home. It proves that it is concerned. We hope that next time the government sanctions funds for Rajguru’s wada too.”
But why not in this budget?
“We did not know the procedure of application. Singh’s family must have submitted a proposal in advance. We will also prepare a detailed proposal and send it to the government,” Satyasheel said.
However, Atul Deshmukh, member of Rajguru Sudhar Samiti expressed disappointment. “For several years, we have been requesting for funds to maintain the Rajguru wada. We appreciate that they considered another martyr’s contribution, but Rajguru’s sacrifice was no lesser and his ancestral home is a national treasure which should be protected. The archeology department was also supposed to get some funds to maintain this wada, but nothing happened except building a retaining wall to keep away encroachers, which isn’t enough.”
On the other hand, Shirur MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil who has been following Rajguru’s wada issue for the past couple of years criticised the government saying that the Congress government has been neglecting Rajguru’s contributions.
He said, “While releasing the postal stamp of Rajguru, I had spoken with the President and had informed about the dilapidated condition of Rajguru’s wada. But the government did not pay attention and thus they did not sanction money. I will take this issue forward in future.”
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