By IANS
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Friday accused the central government of discriminating against Madhya Pradesh, saying the quota of wheat for people Above the Poverty Line (APL) had not been enhanced and that the state had not got its due share of power.
Chouhan said he had made several requests to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for an increase in the APL wheat quota, but to no avail.
“APL wheat quota for Punjab has been increased but not for Madhya Pradesh despite several requests,” he told reporters at a press conference here.
Similarly, the government adopts a discriminatory attitude for providing additional relief to flood and drought victims, he alleged.
“The state government has been providing relief to flood and drought victims from its own funds but the Centre has not provided a single paisa to meet these exigencies,” Chouhan claimed.
The chief minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state was paying special attention to provide relief to the Bundelkhand region, hit by drought for the fourth year in a row.
“It seems that the Centre is working in a planned manner with elections in mind this year and is thus stopping all dues and help to the state,” he said.
Chouhan added that the central government had not provided power to the state due to it from the Damodar Valley project and equipment built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) was not supplied in time, due to which the state was not able to produce enough power.
“The state has still achieved an increase of 2,250 MW power production through its own efforts, which is a record in the history of Madhya Pradesh. The power situation here is better than any Congress-ruled state in the country,” he claimed.
On the charges of power being sold by the state, Chouhan said only surplus power was sold during the monsoons so that the money earned could be used for purchasing power when needed.