Khangura to Badal – Apologise to PM before seeking nuclear power for Punjab - 29/11/2009

Chandigarh, 29 Nov 2009:  Qila Raipur MLA Jassi Khangura today questioned how the Chief Minister could bear to face the PM to demand nuclear power for Punjab.  Khangura said that the audacity of this u-turn was astounding. With several Ministers now adding their voice for a nuclear power station for Punjab it calls to question whether Mr Badal deceived the people of Punjab on the nuclear deal.

Khangura reminded that only 17 months ago the father and son duo went to Delhi with sharpened knives, seeking to block the Indo-US nuclear deal and topple the Manmohan Singh Government.  Not because they thought the nuclear deal was wrong for India and Punjab, but because they were not able to put the interests of Punjab above their own political compulsions.

Khangura demanded that the Punjab CM apologise to the PM and the people of Punjab that last year’s vote against the nuclear deal was a mistake .The current demand for a nuclear power station for Punjab should have been made then. We have wasted 18 months. He added that jeopardising the energy security of a state for personal power was unpardonable.

Additionally, Khangura commented  “the chance to kill the nuclear deal meant that even that great orator of our time, Sukhbir Badal, could not bring himself to speak up for the people of Punjab in Parliament during the critical debate on the Indo-US nuclear deal, despite realising the parlous state of the Punjab power scenario.”

The first time Qila Raipur Congress MLA stressed “thank God that the maturity and sensibility of MPs like Sukhdev Singh Libra prevailed at the time of the confidence vote.”

Khangura stated that the Punjab Congress supports the demand for nuclear power for Punjab but cautioned that border security concerns and the high population density in Punjab may restrict such a possibility. He added that if the location of a nuclear power plant in Punjab is not possible then a location outside Punjab must be defined with the Central Government ensuring that all power produced indeed goes to Punjab.  He ventured “let’s make this an all-party demand in the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha session”.

Khangura cautioned, however, whether Punjab today had even Rs1 to contribute to any such project, adding “the Badals remind me of college students in a posh restaurant – they want all the expensive dishes but give no thought as to how to pay”.

“The Badals have reduced Punjab to the status of a beggar.  They have refused to take tough political decisions required for resource mobilisation.  They have continuously misled the people of Punjab about the state of the Treasury and have raised record amounts of additional debt”.

Khangura stated that if, in the pursuit of votes, Chief Minister Badal can regularly apologise with folded hands, why can he not find the resolve at this critical junction to apologise to Dr Manmohan Singh for failing to support the nuclear vote.   After all, if the Badal’s had had their way, 17 months ago, they would not even have the option of demanding nuclear power for Punjab today.