By IANS,
New Delhi : Citing several instances of “injustice” meted out to Punjab over the decades, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal Tuesday asked the central government to undo them.
Addressing the conference of chief ministers on internal Security here, Badal urged the central government to take immediate steps to resolve religious, political, economic and geographical issues of Punjab, which had successfully maintained peace and communal harmony, kept law and order and kept crime under control, and ably handled conflicts arising out of socio-religious factors.
“There is a strong perception in the minds of people of the state of injustice at the hands of the centre in religious, political, economic and geographical matters. Our capital has been denied to us despite firm and concrete assurances from the government of India… it has still not been transferred to us,” Badal said.
“Similar injustice has been meted out to the state on the issue of river waters in which Punjab is the only state where the riparian principle has been violated.”
Badal said that despite contributing 70 percent of food grains to the national kitty, Punjab farmers had not been given any agricultural package. He added that despite suffering from terrorism for a long time, no industrial package or large industrial projects were given either.
Badal also said that the central government was not showing requisite seriousness while addressing issues of extreme religious sensitivity like the turban issue involving France and security agencies in the United States.
He also made an impassioned plea that the issue of ‘black-list’ be conclusively settled. Those on this list, mostly owing to direct or indirect links to terror elements, are not allowed to enter India from other countries.
Stressing Punjab’s strategic geographical location exposed it to major international narco-terrorist threats, especially from hostile neighbour Pakistan, he urged the central government to provide adequate security measures and technology to combat these threats.