The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today thanked the Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley for “the much delayed and deserved bonanza for for Punjab, including the announcements on Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the state, including holy city of Amritsar in the New Heritage City Development Yojna and expeditious completion of the Kolkata-Amritsar industrial corridor.Whole hearted welcoming the budget, Mr Badal said that such prestigious projects of national importance had been first time included in the Union Budget presented by Mr. Jaitley. Meanwhile, the Union Minister for Food Processing Ms Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that it was such a painful irony that the Amritsar MP Captain Amarinder Singh remained characteristically absent from parliament when his state and especially Amritsar were receiving the good new from Mr. jaitley. She profusely thanked the Finance Minster for keeping his state his home town upper most in his mind while presenting the budget. She said that this contrasted with what Punjab used to get under the UPA budgets.In his statement, the Chief Minister said that the budget
announcements spoke volumes of Mr. Jaitley’s love and affection for the people of Punjab in general and Amritsar in particular Mr. Jaitley had. As a special gratitude to the Union Finance Minister, Mr. Badal today announced that the proposed IIM would be set up in Amritsar. He said that the inclusion of holy city of Amritsar in the New Heritage City Development Yojna would further give impetus to emerge this sacred city as the world class tourist destination. Mr. Badal also said that the completion of Kolkata- Amritsar industrial corridor would also open new vistas of overall economic development in the state besides heralding industrial development in the region. Mr. Badal said that with these announcements his stand against Congress’s step motherly treatment towards Punjab had been vindicated as the UPA government had never bothered to allot any significant project to the state. However, he said that the NDA in its maiden budget had proved its sincerity and honesty towards the hard working people of Punjab by rewarding them with a bonanza to usher in an era of economic prosperity and growth in the state.
In her statement, Ms Harsimrat Kaur Badal thanked Mr. Jaitley for such prestigious projects in the Union Budget, Union Food Processing Minister Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that these projects have defied the tall claims of previous UPA government, which merely declared them on paper. She confidently said that now the Kolkata-Amritsar industrial corridor project would finally see the light at the end of tunnel. Mrs. Badal said that NDA in its maiden budget has given Punjab its due share in recognition of its superb contribution in the country’s agriculture production. She said that these development oriented projects marks the ending of the saga of discrimination against Punjab and would silent the detractors of NDA, who were showing apprehensions about the NDA’s sincerity towards the state and its people.