Slamming the Congress party for ‘shedding crocodile tears’ on the issues of farmers, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the ‘Kisan Rally’ organized by the Congress in New Delhi was nothing more than a political gimmick. Interacting with the media persons after presiding over the fourth Convocation of Shaheed Bhagat Singh State Technical Campus here today, the Chief Minister said that it was a fact that the farmers’ of the country were facing a number of problems only due to the regressive policies of the Congress party.
Questioning the logic behind organizing the Kisan rally in New Delhi, he said that the Congress was the root cause of the agonies of the farmers so it has no moral right to organize such a rally. “This rally is a ‘political gimmick’, the sole aim of which is to score brownie points before media rather than solving any problem faced by the farmers” added Mr. Badal.Terming that the time tested ‘Punjab model’ of land acquisition, which had been successfully implemented in the State for over past many year, was the best in the country, the Chief Minister said that in Punjab the farmers had been fully compensated whenever any land had been acquired for development. “Ever since assuming power in 2007 we have been pursuing a pro-farmer policy of land acquisition, which is a role model for the entire country” he added.
Batting for opening of the trade through Hussainiwala and Fazilka borders, the Chief Minister said that though it was an international matter but then also the state government would make concerted efforts for opening these borders as it would usher in an era of unprecedented development and prosperity in the entire Punjab. He said that since Punjab was a landlocked state so opening of trade through these borders could boost the economic activity in the region. Mr. Badal also said that the items currently traded through the Attari border should also be brought at par with those traded through Mumbai-Krachi sea route.
Replying to another query, the Chief Minister squarely blamed the previous UPA government for spiraling prices of sand and gravel in the state. He said that the UPA government deliberately denied the permission to state government for auctioning the mines in the state, which led to hike in prices of sand and gravel. However, Mr. Badal said that the prices of sand would be reduced soon as the NDA government has now given permission to the state for mining.
Earlier addressing the gathering after conferring degrees to the students of Shaheed Bhagat Singh State Technical Campus, the Chief Minister announced that the state government would make persistent efforts for getting status of deemed university for this premier institution by taking up this issue with the Government of India. Laying thrust on the need for giving result oriented education to the youth, he said that the state government has been making all out efforts to impart skill training to the youth of Punjab so as to open new avenues of self employment for them. Mr. Badal said that efforts were afoot to enable the youth of the state to compete with their peers across the globe.
Thanking the NDA government for allotting key projects like Indian Institute of Management (IIM) for the state, the Chief Minister said these institutes along with the Indian School of Business (ISB), IIIT Ropar and others would give more fillip to the education sector in the state. Badal also exhorted the elected representatives of the villages and cities present on the occasion inspire the students of villages and cities to avail skill education for getting gainfully employed. He also called upon the students to serve the country and the society by following the footsteps of the legendary martyr Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
Welcoming the Chief Minister on the occasion, the state BJP Chief Kamal Sharma hailed the path breaking initiatives taken by the state government for imparting quality education to the youth of the state. He also appreciated the concern of the Chief Minister for every strata of the society. Prominent amongst other present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Mr. Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Advisor to Chief Minister on National Affairs and Media Mr. Harcharan Bains, Lok Sabha MP Mr. Sher Singh Ghubaya, MLAs Mr. Hari Singh Zira and Mr. Joginder Singh Jindu, Deputy Commissioner Mr. DPS Kharbanda and Director Shaheed Bhagat Singh State Technical Campus Dr. TS Sidhu.