Hero Cycles not leaving state,says Badal
Rubbishing reports that Hero Cycles was moving out of the state,Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday urged the company to start manufacturing cars in Punjab
Rubbishing reports that Hero Cycles was moving out of the state,Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday urged the company to start manufacturing cars in Punjab.
Badal said so while launching the autobiography of O P Munjal — CMD of Hero Cycles — on his 85th birthday in Ludhiana. “It should be done in Punjab and nowhere else. While the first generation of the family manufactured bicycles,the second generation made motorcycles. Now,the third generation must start manufacturing cars in Punjab. Next,planes must be the target,” Badal said.
The autobiography describes Munjal as a man who started his career from scratch — a boy who left studies at the age of 15 and made it big. “I had also started my career as a sarpanch and today,have become the chief minister of Punjab for the fifth term. The credit of my success goes to my hard work,” Badal said at the function.
While thanking Hero Cycles for being a prominent tax payer in the state,the CM said: “Our finance minister must thank Hero Cycles because it contributes a lot in making the state rich by paying huge taxes. Now,they have launched a vocational skill centre — ‘Hunar’ at Hero Cycles Limited — where the poor can get training for employment.”
Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa added: “We were surprised to hear reports that Hero Cycles was shifting from Punjab. Munjals have preferred to stay back in Ludhiana. They have also started a skill development centre today and plan to invest more in Punjab.” He even asked B M Munjal,elder brother of O P Munjal and CMD of Hero Motocorp,to bring some of the projects in Punjab instead of investing in Delhi and Haryana.
Badal,while claiming that Hero Cycles was not moving out,however,admitted that many companies were expanding outside Punjab. For this,he went on to blame the Centre for giving industrial packages to neighbouring states.
CM tells Union ministers from Punjab to Introspect before questioning
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday said Union ministers from Punjab should introspect on the “wrong” policies of the UPA government at the Centre before seeking a white paper on the state’s fiscal condition.
“The exchange value of Rupee against Dollar has touched an all-time low and the prices of essential commodities are sky rocketing,much to the dismay of common man… The UPA has failed miserably in safeguarding the interests of the country due to which it has lost the moral right to remain in power,” he told reporters at an event here. Making a scathing attack on the Union ministers from the state,Badal dared them to list their achievements in bringing projects to Punjab. “Union ministers and the Congress leadership have been criticising the state government for the sake of criticism whereas it was a fact that the state has witnessed unparallelled development under SAD-BJP,” he claimed. Badal further accused the Congress-led UPA of meting out step-motherly treatment to Punjab,saying it has destroyed the backbone of the state’s industry.
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