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Sans infra, EU trade pact benefit claims for Punjab hollow: Bajwa
Highlighting the proposed FTA while addressing a gathering on the 649th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas in Jalandhar at Dera Sachkhand Ballan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said sectors such as textiles, sports goods manufacturing and food processing in Punjab would benefit significantly.
Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday questioned the Union government’s claims of export-led growth for Punjab following the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), stating that ‘rhetoric’ without infrastructure and policy support would leave the state excluded from its benefits.
Highlighting the proposed FTA while addressing a gathering on the 649th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas in Jalandhar at Dera Sachkhand Ballan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said sectors such as textiles, sports goods manufacturing and food processing in Punjab would benefit significantly. “The Punjab textile sector will get access to 27 new countries, and the same applies to sports goods manufacturers. The EU-India trade deal is the ‘mother of all deals’,” the PM said.
Referring to PM’s address, Bajwa said that the ground reality in Punjab makes such assurances questionable.
“The PM spoke about new export opportunities to Europe. The question Punjab asks is simple—how can our goods be sent competitively when the state itself is commercially chained? The land border remains closed. Overland trade routes to Eurasia and onward to Europe, which are the most cost-effective and efficient for Punjab, are unavailable. Exporters are forced onto long and expensive sea routes, eroding competitiveness even before products reach European markets,” he said.
“Punjab is not asking for favours. It is asking for a fair partnership in national growth. If the Centre genuinely wants Punjab to benefit from the EU FTA, it must unlock borders, strengthen logistics, and integrate Punjab into India’s export strategy. Opportunity without access is not empowerment—it is an illusion”, he added.
Bajwa added that the air cargo infrastructure in Punjab is inadequate.
“Airports at Halwara, Adampur and Bathinda exist largely as token facilities, with no meaningful cargo movement. Even Chandigarh and Amritsar face limited flights and weak cargo operations. Without reliable logistics, exporters cannot meet European timelines or cost benchmarks,” he said, adding that the state has been ignored in the Union budget “Punjab does not figure anywhere in the budget. There is no economic revival roadmap, no industrial push, no employment package for unemployed youth, and no serious strategy for linking agriculture with processing and exports,” he said.
Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment, Pargat Singh, said the PM left Punjab bereft of any substantive relief package or meaningful aviation advancements.
“Neither Adampur nor Halwara airports secured major new flights, while the recent budget had already callously sidelined the state,” he said.
Pargat Singh welcomed the renaming of Adampur Airport after Guru Ravidas and demanded to know why the PM has failed to elevate Adampur to international status and why direct flights to Delhi remain absent.
