Rapping the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for introducing Food Security Ordinance, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said it is an irony that the Centre has never made any effort to preserve and store the golden grains produced by the farmers after hard labour.
Citing Punjab’s example, Badal said the Centre had never fulfilled its duty of preserving the rich harvest of the hard working and resilient farmers of the State. Badal was in Bathinda to lay the foundation stone of Student Centre and Boys Hostel at Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University campus.
“Centre is meting out step-motherly treatment to the State by deliberately lingering on the proposals regarding extending scientific storage facilities in the State despite the fact that I have personally taken up this matter with the top brass of the Union Government, but to no avail,” he added.
On the question of giving clean chit to Punjab Technical University vice-chancellor Rajneesh Arora, against whom state Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa had levelled serious allegations of embezzment of varsity funds and has demanded his dismissal, Badal said: “I have given no clean chit and law will take its own course in the matter.”
likewise, on the issue of a Central team indicting the alleged involvement of Punjab Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka in the library book and science kit purchase scam, Badal said the “judicial probe by a retired High Court judge is already on and it is not worthwhile to comment on it.”
Reacting to a query regarding sidelining of former Director General of School Education (DGSE) Kahan Singh Pannu, “Pannu has been transferred on administrative grounds. He will enjoy the new posting,” Badal added in jest.
The Chief Minister, responding to the demand regarding university status to Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University campus, asked the College authorities to prepare a case regarding the matter and send it to the State Government.
“State Government would enact a law regarding it and would grant varsity status to the campus in the next Session of the State legislative Assembly,” he added.