Punjab Congress to meet PM to seek special industrial package
Wednesday, 22/01/2014
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CHANDIGARH: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday said he with Punjab ministers at the Centre and party MPs would meet the Prime Minister to demand a special industrial package for Punjab.
“If it would not be possible, the Centre shall give a similar package to six border districts of Punjab so that the industry had an option to relocate to the border belt where cheap land, labour and water are available,” said Bajwa.
Bajwa said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the industry minister had assured him that the package would not be given to hill states after the expiry of the sunset clause.
He clarified that in 2003, the union government had granted special package to three hill states when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prime minister and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, secretary general of SAD, was minister for chemical and fertilisers. Bajwa said Dhindsa did not give any note of dissent against the decision. “Even Sukhbir Badal who was minister of state for industry did not object to it,” Bajwa said.
Meanwhile, the hunger strike started by the Punjab Congress to press for a CBI probe into the drug racket entered third day on Tuesday. Addressing mediapersons here, Bajwa said his counsel would intervene to put up evidence and arguments in the Punjab and Haryana high court during the hearing of the petition on January 29 for which the high court has granted liberty.
