The Punjab Congress on Thursday called upon the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to explain the reason for the latest discrimination by his own Narendra Modi Government at the Centre in the matter of denial of special financial allocation to the State.
"What is all the more strange that Punjab has not only been kept out from special assistance but also excluded from the category of the states facing financial crisis which have been given special assistance that included neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh also," said Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa.
Bajwa reminded Badal that under the UPA, Punjab was among the three States including Kerala and Bengal which had been identified as the ones suffering from staggering debt and the Manmohan Singh Government had laid roadmap for recovery of these states. "While nine more states have been added to this category, Punjab has been excluded," pointed Bajwa.
"You have been alleging discrimination by the Congress governments at the Centre against Punjab for decades but here is your own government which has dealt the severest blow. Why don't you withdraw your daughter-in-law Harsimrat Badal from the Modi cabinet in protestIJ In case you don't, it would clearly imply that the state interests are not dear to you and what are important for you are your family interests," Bajwa told Badal.
On the other hand, Punjab's former finance minister and People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal castigated the Badal government for having failed to effectively present its case to the Centre for special financial assistance.
"It is shocking that Punjab has been excluded from the list of debt ridden states for which special assistance has been announced by the 14th Finance Commission. Punjab is among the top three debt-ridden states including Kerala and Bengal when, as the finance minister, I had taken up the case with the Centre for debt relief to which the Centre had agreed in principle subject to conditions like rationalization of subsidies," said Manpreet.
He said that Centre's decision to exclude Punjab from the category of financially stressed states "reflects utter failure of the Chief Minister to take up the case properly with the very government in which the Akali Dal is a partner".
Manpreet pointed that hike in Punjab's share from the central pool from 1.389 per cent to 1.577 per cent was just meager.