The incumbent cabinet minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu second showed his noble gesture when he paid Rs 2.5 lakh for the electricity bill of martyr Bhagat Singh’s house. 

Earlier, Sidhu had given Rs 24 lakh from his pocket to some farmers who had suffered heavy losses due to their crop damage. Punjab tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday handed over a cheque of Rs 2.5 lakh from his own pocket to deputy commissioner Sonali Giri, in favour of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. 

Sidhu also highlighted the failure of the state government in paying power bills of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s house and of the memorial park in Khatkar Kalan village in SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr) district. 

Sidhu, when asked by the media about the non-payment of the electricity bill of the ancestral house of martyr Bhagat Singh and the park adjoining it, decided to pay the bill on the spot from his own pocket.

A caretaker, RS Yadav, 50, stays at the house and maintains both the properties that share a wall. The memorial that is open to visitors is lit up, leading to the bill, Yadav says. 

During his visit to the house on Monday, the minister said he was pained over the recent media reports that the bill of Bhagat’s house was not cleared and that the construction work of museum project was hanging fire for eight years due to lack of funds. 

“The construction work for the museum project will be completed before March 23 next, in a real tribute to the legendary freedom fighter on his martyrdom day,” Sidhu said before handing over the cheque for the electricity bills.