Allow export of wheat from Punjab: Badal

The chief minister pointed out that whenever there is an acute shortage of foodgrain in the country,Punjab was reminded of its obligation towards the national food pool. “On the contrary,whenever there was surplus food production as now is the case for wheat,the Centre pays no heed to the state’s repeated request. This was tantamount to the Centre’s sheer discrimination against Punjab,” he added.

Asked about the state government being accused of misusing central funds,Badal said: “This was a misnomer. The Centre was not doling out anything special to the states. Rather,it was duty-bound to repay back the states’ share from the revenue collected in form of income tax,central excise and others such taxes from the states.”

Claiming that it was highly deplorable on the part of the Centre to deliberately elude progressive states like Punjab by imposing stringent parameters from availing funds under centrally sponsored schemes like Rashtriya Krishi Yojna (RKY) and Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY),he observed: “Development and prosperity in terms of cent-per cent coverage under canal irrigation and rural connectivity through link roads achieved by the state in the early 70’s have now become a deterrent in the way of qualifying for the Centre’s criteria to seek grants to sustain the tempo of overall development.”

Slamming that the state Congress leadership,Badal said that it has no other alternative but to criticise the SAD-BJP alliance government on petty issues. “This speaks volumes of their growing frustration,” he said. Advising the Congress leadership to be wary of blatant criticism on each and every issue,the chief minister — in a lighter vein — said that even Congress president Sonia Gandhi had recently said that criticism has become a fashion of the day.

Meanwhile,the Union Food Ministry has sought samples of wheat,which will be exported from Punjab following a high-level panel’s recommendation for exporting 2 million tonnes of the grain,a senior FCI official said on Saturday. “We have been asked by the Union Food Ministry to send sample of wheat collected from Punjab in order to make sure that the crop exported from here is free of ‘Karnal bunt’ disease. Karnal Bunt is a fungal disease and it turns some part of wheat grain blackish and brittle. However,no such case has been reported regarding the wheat crop reported from Punjab,” he said. The Food Corporation of India office of Punjab has been asked to send sample by May 22.

‘Mamata’s coercive tactics
on debt waiver
to help Punjab’

Asked to comment on the concerted efforts of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a debt waiver for her state,Badal said: “If the Centre succumbs to Mamata Banerjee’s demand tomorrow,our state ought to benefit because West Bengal,Kerala and Punjab had been categorised as debt-stressed states by the 13th Finance Commission. The Centre can’t apply different yardsticks for the similarly situated states.”

“Her ultimatum given to the Centre on either waiving the outstanding debt or seeking moratorium on its repayment were coercive tactics aimed to bring Congress-led UPA government on the negotiation table to accede to her demand,” he added. Saying that Badal said that it was obligatory on the part of the Centre to relieve Punjab from debt trap,Badal said: “The state had fought a decade-long battle of the nation against militancy,to secure the unity and integrity of the country.”

Badal refers
to Ram-Lakshman
on his bond
with Gurdas

On the issue of his frequent meetings with his brother Gurdas Singh Badal recently,the chief minister asked the media not to be skeptical about humanely relations and that too of brothers who are often known as “Ram-Lakshman”. Maintaining that he still loves his brother and gives him respect “despite many surmises and conjectures by the people according to their own whims and fancies”,Badal stressed that the “everlasting bonding” between them will always remain intact.