Bajwa challenges Badal to open debate on central assistance
Sunday, 06/04/2014
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=99073&boxid=57101&uid=&dat=2014-04-06
Reacting to the criticism of the UPA government on the issue of central assistance by the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, PPCC president, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Saturday challenged him to an open debate on the topic. Bajwa attended a series of meetings in Dina Nagar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot at the Congress Bhawan offices with the partyworkers.
By calling the chief minister liar, Bajwa says that Parkash Singh Badal was continuously misguiding the people of the state by saying that Congress has been discriminating against Punjab in the matter of central assistance and also claims that the situation would only change, if BJP would come into power. “He has always tried to do his politics on this so called discrimination syndrome,” Bajwa said.
He further says that Badal was seeking votes for the Amritsar BJP candidate Arun Jaitley by saying that once Jaitley took over as finance minister, if Narendra Modi emerge victorious, there would be no shortage of money in the country. “How Badal is so sure that Modi would become PM,” he further asked.
Bajwa said that the data available on the schemes like MNREGA, Indira Awas Yojna, Swaran Jayanti Swai Rozgar Yojna (SGSY), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) totally contradicted the baseless and malicious propaganda being resorted to by Badal.
While quoting the facts and figures he says, the central allocation under these schemes in 2007-08 was Rs 52.64 crore, while the total expenditure was Rs 92.49 crore. These figures were Rs102.29 crore and Rs 155.61 crore in 2008-09, Rs 114.04 crore and Rs 298.11 crore in 2009-10, Rs 135.85 crore and Rs 302.10 crore in 2010-11, Rs 128.66 crore and Rs 277.67 crore in 2011-12, Rs 150.31 crore and Rs 211.77 crore in 2012-13 and Rs 176.99 crore and Rs 250.55 crore, respectively for 2013-14.
He said that under this, the National Rural Health Mission, as against the allocation of Rs 246.78 crore in 2010-11, the release was Rs 252. 81 crore while the actual expenditure was Rs 339. 87 crore. In 2012-13, the utilisation of this central scheme was 114 per cent.
