Revenue and public relations minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday said that the Punjab Congress leadership should tender an apology to the people of the state for their "proven connivance in continuous step- motherly treatment" meted out by the Congress-led UPA government during the last 10 years.
Addressing an election rally here in favour of Tarlok Singh Bath, the SAD-BJP candidate from Ghuman zone for Gurdaspur zila parishad, Majithia pointed out that the UPA regime was approaching completion of their second consecutive term at the Centre during which Punjab was "totally ignored" on all fronts. The most unfortunate aspect was that the Punjab Congress leadership never uttered a single word against the high handedness of the union government, the SAD minister added.
Majithia said that the state Congress leaders, including present PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa, and his predecessor always betrayed the interests of the state to save their own positions.
On one hand, states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were given special packages of Rs 12,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore, respectively, but Punjab was ignored even for debt waiver scheme, he claimed.
The minister said that before pointing out to the SAD-BJP government's alleged failures, these "gentlemen" should themselves introspect their own performances and commitment towards the interests of the state.
{{/usCountry}}The minister said that before pointing out to the SAD-BJP government's alleged failures, these "gentlemen" should themselves introspect their own performances and commitment towards the interests of the state.
{{/usCountry}}He dared Bajwa to show a single central project he had brought to the state. He said that the people of Punjab fully understood Bajwa's "daily gimmicks and press statement-based politics" and would reject the Congress and its leaders in these panchayati raj elections.
He claimed that the SAD-BJP government in Punjab was given a repeat mandate in the last Vidhan Sabha elections purely on the basis of its developmental and pro-poor initiatives.
Prominent leaders who addressed these rallies included Capt Balbir Singh Bath, former minister Raj Mohinder Singh Majithia and Baba Harjit Bhalla, president of Sri Hargobindpur Sahib municipal council.