Congress deputy leader in the lok Sabha, Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday blamed the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for the Finance Commission’s refusal to provide any debt relief to Punjab despite the State having been identified as debt-stressed by the commission along with Kerala and West Bengal.
“This is obviously because first the Akalis rampaged and ransacked the Punjab’s economy with all impunity to the brink of bankruptcy and then they failed to plead their case on merit by banking more on goodwill than on facts, thus resulting in outright rejection for any debt relief’, he remarked, while asserting, “economic decisions are not guided by any preferences or prejudices as Badal will try to make us belief but purely on economic and financial merit”.
In a statement issued here, Capt Amarinder said that Badal has always tried to politicise everything and in the same way he had been accusing the previous Congress-led UPA Government of discriminating against Punjab. “Now let Badal explain to the people of Punjab as why he failed to get debt relief for the State despite a friendly Government at the Centre, of which his (Badal’s) party is an alliance partner, refused it”, he asked.
“ Badal would have done better if he had properly pleaded the case with the Centre instead of politicising the issue and merely banking upon the self-proclaimed goodwill of the Union Finance Minister”, Capt Amarinder observed, while wondering, if the Opposition-ruled States like Kerala and West Bengal could get debt relief from the Centre, why the Akali-BJP ruled Punjab failed to get it.
The former Chief Minister pointed out that the Congress-led UPA Government had identified Punjab, Kerala and West Bengal as debt-stressed States which could be provided debt relief. He regretted that while Kerala and West Bengal are getting it, Punjab missed the bus as the State apparently failed to convince the Centre or its financial mismanagement which has led to total mess prevented any such relief for Punjab.
The Congress leader warned that the debt situation in Punjab was now beyond any redemption as the only hope of central assistance has been dashed by the Finance Commission’s refusal.