Sukhbir sees 'revenge' in no drought aid for Punjab

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday alleged that the Centre was taking revenge for the Congress' defeat in the Punjab assembly elections by not giving drought relief to the state.

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday alleged that the Centre was taking revenge for the Congress' defeat in the Punjab assembly elections by not giving drought relief to the state.

The exclusion of Punjab from the Rs 2,000-crore drought relief package announced by the Centre is an example of its (the UPA) anti-Punjab stance, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said at a function on the Bathinda-Lambi road.

The deputy CM termed the Centre's decision as "revenge" for the Congress' rout in the assembly polls. Sukhbir alleged that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was "hell bent" on squeezing non-UPA ruled states and was imposing unnecessary riders for allocation of central funds.

"When coal, marble and hydro-power producing states are entitled to collect royalty then why is Punjab being denied to collect levy taxes on foodgrains being produced here?" he asked.
On the project he inaugurated on Wednesday, Sukhbir said the Bathinda-Lambi Railway Overbridge (ROB) would improve connectivity. The state government had decided to construct 27 ROBs, RUBs (Railway Underbridge) at an estimate cost of Rs 550 crore in the next three years and work on 13 of these has already started.

Badal said a Rs 2,500-crore project of 4 laning the 220-km long Bathinda-Patiala-Zirakpur expressway would provide a vital link to Malwa area and shorten the journey time significantly after its completion.