Cong rues BJP govt’s apathy towards Punjab

He said about 2,000 acres of land had been acquired for the project and work on laying of the Bathinda-Kandla pipeline had been completed. About 2,000 ancillary units were expected to be set up in Punjab because of this refinery project. It would have given a boost to the economy of the state, he said.

Similarly, the Rs 6,000-crore petro-chemical project for which a survey had been completed in Fatehgarh Sahib district had now been shelved by the Centre. A letter of intent for this project had already been issued and the pollution impact report had been prepared. Now when so much work had been done, the government suddenly decided to scrap the project. The Congress leader said this was a clear indication of the Union government’s discriminatory policies towards Punjab as no other refinery project elsewhere in the country had been dropped like this.

Bir Devinder Singh said the Akali ministers in Vajpayee government should resign in view of this discriminatory attitude of the Centre towards Punjab. They should also clarify their position to the public. The Akali Dal should also withdraw support to the BJP government at the Centre had failed to safeguard the interests of the state.

He said the Congress would shortly convene an all-party meeting to mobilise public opinion on this issue. Bir Devinder Singh said there was no mention of Punjab on the national agenda of the BJP government. No new trains had been announced in the railway budget and nor were any new rail lines sanctioned. Union Home Minister L.K. Advani’s categorical statement that Chandigarh would remain a UT were provocations enough for the Akali Dal to withdraw support to the BJP government, he said.