To register their resentment against the Centre’s decision to extend special industrial package to the neighbouring hill States, the leaders of the ruling coalition in Punjab on Friday submitted memorandum to Governor Shivraj Patil.
The SAD-BJP leader expressed discontentment over the “discriminatory policies” followed by the Congress-led UPA Government while extending tax concessions to neighbouring hill States. The delegation also sought Governor’s intervention to urge the Centre “to reconsider their decision and to provide concessions to Punjab at par with neighbouring States without any further delay”.
The delegation, led by the SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and BJP state president Kamal Sharma, includes all core committee members, MlAs and MPs.
Condemning the Centre’s “highly discriminatory, illegal and unconstitutional” decision to extend tax concessions to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Sukhbir said that the State Government has been successful in firming up investment worth more than Rs 65,000 crore in recently concluded Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, and the Centre’s action to extend tax concessions to neighbouring States and denying the same incentives to Punjab “seems to be a well-entrenched conspiracy to sabotage state government’s plans to usher in an era of unprecedented industrial development in the State”.
Advocating the State’s claims for special industrial package, he said that Punjab has 550 km-long active border with Pakistan and has to face brunt of partition of 1947 as well as of two wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, undergone a long period of turmoil, and has the highest 32 per cent Scheduled Caste population in the State.
SAD-BJP’s hue and cry to deflect public attention: Cong
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) on Friday maintained that the SAD-BJP alliance was adopting “double standards” and misleading the people of the State on the issue of special industrial package to hilly States.
“The memorandum submitted by the SAD-BJP leaders to the Governor for special industrial package is another attempt by ruling alliance to hide their own follies and put blame on the Congress party. Only aim of raising hue and cry over special package to hilly States is to divert public attention from vital issues like involvement of SAD ministers in drug racket, deteriorating law and order and poor economic condition of state,” said PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa.
He said that as State party president, he had made vigorous efforts to get special industrial package for Punjab and also met Prime Minister and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi.