Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal –Bhartiya Janta Party leaders including all core committee members, MLAs and MPs led by the Party Presidents Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and Mr. Kamal Sharma today presented a memorandum to the Governor Punjab Mr. Shivraj.V.Patil at Punjab Raj Bhawan regarding the discriminatory policies followed by Congress led UPA Government while extending tax concessions to the neighboring states of Himachal and Uttranchal seeking his advice to the Union Government to reconsider their decision and to provide concessions to the State of Punjab at par with neighboring states without any further delay.
- Seeks his advice to union government to reconsider decision regarding industrial package to states
- Sukhbir condemns congress led UPA government for discriminatory attitude for Punjab
Condemning the highly discriminatory, illegal and unconstitutional decision of the congress led UPA government extending tax concessions to the neighboring states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttranchal, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the State Government has been successful in firming up investment worth more than Rs. 65,000 crore in the recently concluded “Progressive Punjab Investor's Summit”.
“The action of the Congress led Central Government to extend tax concessions to the neighboring states and denying the same incentives to the State ofPunjabseems to be a well-entrenched conspiracy to sabotage the plans of the State Government to usher in an era of unprecedented industrial development in the State”, he added.
Advocating the claims of Punjab for special Industrial package, Mr. Badal said that Punjab has a 550 kilometer long alive border with a hostile country, it has to face the brunt of partition of 1947 as well as of two wars with Pakistan in 1965 & again in 1971, undergone a long period of turmoil, has the highest 32% schedule caste population in the State, industry in the state also suffers because of its geographical location and industry has to bear the high cost of transportation of raw material as well as that of finished goods. He said that SAD-BJP government was not against the grant of these tax concessions to any neighboring state but the denial of these incentives to the border State ofPunjabis a clear cut case of bias and step-motherly treatment to the State.