To put the state on pedestal of industrialisation, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute an expert group for it “as agriculture, the mainstay of our economy, has reached plateau”.
Badal, addressing a gathering during a function to honour nearly 250 micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said that Punjab's economy had been badly shattered on account of several factors, like partition immediately after freedom, decades long militancy, liberal concessions to neighbouring hill states “and finally discriminatory freight equalisation policy”.
Due to the “hostile neighbour”, the economy of the border districts of the state has been hit badly and it was a high time for the Centre to address this issue on top priority by ensuring a level playing field for “hard working and innovative industrialists of the state”, said Badal.
The five-time Chief Minister said that with the squeezed margins of profit in the agriculture sector, the industry was the only viable solution for the development in the state.
Highlighting the plight of current agrarian scenario, Badal impressed upon Modi to constitute another expert group to make agriculture a remunerative preposition. “The farmers of the country are facing a tough time and the Centre is duty-bound to bail out them from it,” he said.
Badal said that the farmers of Punjab needed special dispensation “as we owe an obligation towards the resilient peasantry which had sacrificed everything to make our nation self-sufficient in food production”.
He said that the expert group must suggest “ways and means” to make farming a profitable venture.
Complementing Modi for launching surgical strikes on terror pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Badal said that “this unique and bold initiative” has rejuvenated the spirit of patriotism and nationalism amongst the countrymen. “The unprecedented, courageous, heroic and decisive act of Modi hardly finds any parallel across the globe,” he said.
Badal maintained that Punjab has been immensely benefitted from Modi’s benevolence in a short span of BJP-led NDA government’s rule at the Centre under his dynamic and visionary leadership.
The Union government has given several key projects, including All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Post-Graduate Horticulture Research and Educational Institute, which would be instrumental in putting the state further on high growth trajectory.
At the same time, he urged the Prime Minister to spare some time from his busy schedule as per his convenience to lay the foundation stone of prestigious AIIMS at Bathinda — which was accepted by Modi.
SAMPlA HAIlS NDA FOR EMPOWERING SC/ST
Union Minister of State and Punjab BJP president Vijay Sampla lauded the initiative taken by the NDA government in empowering the SC/ST brethren by promoting entrepreneurship spirit amongst them.
“This would immensely benefit around 34 percent Dalit populace in the state by transforming their destiny as job providers instead of job seekers,” he said.
Sampla also lauded the path breaking initiatives taken by Modi government like Stand up India, Skill India, Digital India and others to empower the youth by opening new vistas of self-employment for them.
Hailing the NDA Government for allotting big ticket infrastructure projects for Punjab, Sampla said that these major projects would give a major boost to ongoing development of state.
He also lauded Prime Minister Modi for taking unprecedented step of conducting surgical strikes in PoK to destroy terror pads from across the border.