Centre meting out step-motherly treatment to Punjab: Badal

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accused the Centre of meting out step- motherly treatment to the state.

Muktsar (Pb): Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday accused the Centre of meting out step- motherly treatment to the state and said the union government is partial in disbursements of grants. "Unending saga of discrimination and step motherly treatment against Punjab and its peasantry (by Centre) is a deliberate attempt to demoralise the state," Badal told reporters after presiding over the Sports tournament at Abul Khurana here.

He said, "There is hardly any positive outcome from the side of Union government in allocation of funds and schemes to the state due to which its development had been badly hit... This is despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is at the helm of affairs at the Centre, being the son of soil (hailing from Punjab)." Badal said the Union government frames policies with "riders to deliberately exclude Punjab from ambit of the central schemes." "The apathy of the Union government towards Punjab could be well judged from the fact that the industry of the state has been ruined due to the incentives given to our neighbouring states and now due to the exorbitant hike in agricultural inputs, the farmers of the state are on crossroads," he said. The 85-year-old SAD patriarch said the hardworking and resilient farmers of the state had ensured food security for the country "but due to the Centre`s indifferent attitude, they are today reeling under a debt of Rs 32,000 crore". Badal also said despite his requests to the Centre, it has hardly paid any heed in granting permission for setting up new silos for storing up grains in the state. PTI