Cong asks CM to lead delegation to PM for Chandigarh’s transfer
Sunday, 02/11/2014
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GURDASPUR: All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Punjab Harish Chaudhary, on Saturday, urged Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to lead an all-party delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab before January 26, 2015, so that the people of Punjab get it as a New Year gift.
He was addressing a meeting of the District Congress Committee at the Congress Bhavan here on Saturday.
Harish Chaudhary, who is also a former MP, welcomed the decision of the Modi government to give a compensation of ` 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of those who were killed during anti-Sikh riots of Delhi in 1984. But, he also demanded ` 10 lakh compensation for the next of the kin of those who were killed by militants during the dark days of militancy in Punjab.
He also condemned the Modi government for increasing the rates of medicines.
He alleged that Modi had taken the decision of lifting the government control over the fixation of the prices of 108 essential medicines just to please the American medicine manufacturing companies. The AICC secretary said that this would make essential medicines out of the reach of the common man.
He also negated the increase of ` 50 in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat announced by the Modi government.
Terming it a cruel joke with the wheat growers, Harish Chaudhary said that the Congress-led UPA government had increased the MSP of wheat by ` 645 during 2004-05 to 2012.
He said that the Punjab farmers were forced to go in for distress sale of paddy due to delay in the procurement process in the mandis of the state. He sought withdrawal of the service tax imposed on the transactions with foreign countries.
