Senior Congress leader and Union Minister Anand Sharma on Sunday asserted that the country was facing the most crucial elections which were turning into a fight between the secular, progressive and nationalist forces led by the Congress on one side and the communal, divisive and sectarian forces led by the BJP on the other side.
Claiming that the country had progressed many times more under the Congress-led UPA Government than the BJP-led NDA, he, however, regretted that the BJP and its leader Narendra Modi had led a “disinformation campaign” across the country.
“They are suggesting if Modi has some magic wand in his hands that would cure all ills the country faced,” said Sharma while addressing a Press conference accompanied by senior local leader and Amritsar Central MlA OP Soni and district president Rajiv Bhagat.
He said that despite the fact that last 10 years were very difficult for the economy on the global front, the Indian economy had withstood all the challenges and maintained a steady growth.
Quoting figures, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Textiles pointed out that in 2004, when NDA demitted office, the total GDP was at $500 billion, while now it is $2 trillion. “It is for the first time in the history of any country across the world that the GDP had grown four times within a decade and the credit for that goes to the UPA Government,” he added.
Citing another example, Sharma said, “In 2004, total foreign exchange reserves were at $100 billion, which have grown to $300 billion now, again a growth of three times which was despite the fact that prices of crude oil in international market at this time ranged between $100 to $125 per barrel while in 2004, the prices were only $23 per barrel.”
Sharma added that the UPA focussed on welfare measures spending Rs 80,000 crore on education as compared to Rs 10,000 crore spent by the NDA and Rs 35,000 crore on health against Rs 6,000 crore spent by NDA.
He also clarified that it was the BJP-led NDA Government of which the Akali Dal was a constituent ally and Sukhbir Badal as a minister that provided certain concessions to the hill states. “Certain tax concessions have gradually been withdrawn. It is, however, not right to attribute the failure of industry in Punjab on those factors as the State Government needs to look within,” he added.
Capt for reservation of economically weaker upper castes
Former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Amritsar lok Sabha seat Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday favoured reservation in jobs and educational institutions for the members of economically weaker sections among the upper castes.
Capt Amarinder, responding to the demands put forward by Shri Brahman Sabha Punjab, supported their demand that the economically weaker sections from upper castes should also be provided benefits of reservation along with others.
Former Chief Minister agreed that there was a large number of people belonging to upper castes who were not able to make both ends meet, and “such people should also get reservation benefit along with others otherwise their talent and abilities will remain unutilised”.
Capt questions Jaitley on Bhopal gas tragedy victims
Congress candidate from Amritsar Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday asked his SAD-BJP combine rival Arun Jaitley to come clean on his alleged defence to Dow Jones against Bhopal gas tragedy victims over denial of compensation.
Capt Amarinder, in a statement, asked Jaitley whether it was not a fact that the latter gave legal opinion to the US company in December 2006, in a case related to demand for compensation to victims of the tragedy.
Dow Jones, after acquiring Union Carbide, the gas leak from whose pesticide plant in Bhopal killed thousands of people and rendered thousands more incapacitated in December 1984, refused to pay any compensation to the victims saying it did not inherit any liability, he said.
The Congress leader said that it was shocking that Jaitley who was a senior BJP leader, instead of using his legal expertise and influence in support of the victims, took the side of the company. “Don’t you think that besides being a lawyer, you also owe a moral responsibility towards the victimsIJ” he asked Jaitley, adding, “If you could not support them, at least you should not have opposed them.” Punjab’s former Chief Minister asked Jaitley whether his conscience pricks him for taking up a case against the people, for whom everyone in India are sympathetic.
‘Your campaign manager implicated in drug trafficking’
Taking a jibe at SAD-BJP combine candidate in Amritsar Arun Jaitley’s ignorance over synthetic drug trafficking case in Punjab, former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday told him that it was taking place under Akali patronage, especially under his “campaign manager” Bikram Singh Majithia.
Capt Amarinder, responding to Jaitley’s suggestion that he should approach Narcotics Control Bureau, updated him about the case saying that an investigation carried out by the State police along with Narcotics Control Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate had implicated his “campaign manager Bikram Majithia… Majithia’s name figures in the challan and he can have a look at it”. He said, “I think Jaitley is either ignorant of what is happening around him or he deliberately wants to deflect the attention from his campaign manager as it would be too embarrassing for him to admit that his campaign is being managed by the man who stands implicated in drug trafficking.”
Cong raps SAD-BJP for attempts to polarise people
lashing out at the Akali-BJP alliance for trying to polarise people along the communal lines by blowing issues out of context, the Congress on Sunday condemned the alliance’s dharna outside the party’s head office. They said, “Since the alliance has realised that Jaitley is losing badly in Amritsar, now they are trying to blow something out of proportion to polarise people.”
Senior Congress leaders Rana Gurjeet Singh and Bir Devinder Singh, in a joint statement, lashed out at the alliance leaders, including Manjit Singh GK and RP Singh for distorting Capt Amarinder Singh’s statement on Jagdish Tytler. They made it categorically clear that Capt Amarinder had not given clean chit to anyone, including Tytler. “He had told the interviewer that when he went around the riot-hit areas along with his brother Raja Malwinder Singh, cousin Raja Randhir Singh and Ravi Inder Singh, nobody mentioned his name,” they clarified, adding that Amarinder had clarified that the riot victims named people like HKl Bhagat, Dharam Dass Shastri, Sajjan Kumar, Arjan Dass, lalit Maken and some others but nobody named Jagdish Tytler.