Chandigarh, Apr 25: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today charged Former Prime Minister I K Gujral, former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa with "telling lies on waiving off of loans to Punjab advanced for combating insurgency and militancy operations" in late eighties and early nineties. Addressing a press conference, Singh objected to the claims of Gujral, Badal and Dhindsa that he (Chief Minister) was making a false statement that the loan of Rs 5,799.92 crore had not been waived off by the Centre.

"The three are trying to mislead the public. What a tragedy it is that a Former Prime Minister and an ex-chief minister along with a Union Minister should be telling lies for political gains (on waiving of the loan),” the Chief Minister said and released to the media copies of two letters of Union Finance Ministry and then chief minister Badal. Singh said that the finance ministry letter dated September 29, 2000 only speaks of a "moratorium on the payment of the instalments of debt and interest on the special term loan due for repayment may be given to Punjab during the period 2000-05 so that the state is able to build its economy and be in a better position to repay the loan and the interest accruing thereon in subsequent years". He said that out of the total loan of Rs 5,799.92 crore, Rs 771.24 crore had been paid by Punjab, two instalments of Rs 1,256.68 crore had been "waived off" and Rs 3,772 crore was outstanding and after adding interest the amount would be more than Rs 5,000 crore. Bureau Report