Mittal hits out at SAD for‘ignoring’ industry
Saturday, 11/07/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Chandigarh : With top industrialists of Punjab rallying behind state Industry and Commerce Minister Madan Mohan Mittal over the lack of initiative for promoting existing industry, the minister hit out at the Akali Dal for favouring their own vote bank of farmers and ignoring industry, a vote bank of his party the BJP.
“While Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal seems to be concentrating only on getting new industrial investment, as Industry Minister, I have to look after the existing industry, which is facing its worst-ever crisis in Punjab.
“Industry in the state bravely faced and survived terrorism, but due to lack of support, industrial units in Mandi Gobindgarh and Ludhiana are closing down.
“People whose units have been taken over and auctioned are still being asked to pay huge amounts as pending dues on loans.
“We need to help them, just as we supported the farming community by giving them free power and water in 1997,” he said while addressing industry leaders gathered at the CII here today to participate in a workshop on “Make in India”. He minced no words in telling industrialists that he and his party were committed to giving some fiscal incentives to them soon — before the Progressive Punjab Summit in October.
This is the second time in a week that the senior BJP minister has hit out at the leadership of the Akali Dal — his party’s alliance partner in the Punjab Government.
As fissures between the two alliance partners continue to deepen, a meeting of all Punjab BJP ministers, MLAs, district presidents and other office-bearers has been called at Delhi by national party president Amit Shah on Sunday.
Though state BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma tried to downplay the meeting on Sunday and said that it was called to discuss the “mahasampark abhiyan“ of the party in Punjab and other North Zone states, party insiders have confirmed to The Tribune that the BJP president would be meeting Punjab leaders to discuss the political situation in the state.
