Punjab CM not invited to Rahul Gandhi event; complains to PM

Chandigarh, Oct 10: The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday wrote a letter to the PM Manmohan Singh after he felt insulted by not being invited to the event that the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will attend in his state.

The inauguration ceremony for a cancer hospital will be attended by Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and other Congress party workers on Thursday.

In his letter to the PM, Badal has reportedly written that he is displeased that the ruling-Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party members have not been invited to the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the PGI's Satellite Cancer hospital that is being built in collaboration with Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.

Badal also claimed that it was the decision of his government that had proposed the plan of building a cancer hospital, for which they had even allotted 25 acres of land.

Badal has described the snub as the 'violation of the federal system'.

Badal has described the Congress party's snub as the 'violation of the federal system' and has also called for cancellation of the event.

Yesterday, he told reporters in Jalandhar, "I have protested this unwarranted move of the centre by writing a letter to the prime minister. This step is unfortunate."

"I had personally pursued this project and the state government had given 25 acres of land free of cost," he stated.

"It does not behoove such leadership to stoop so low, indulging in politicking over projects related to the prosperity and welfare of the general public," he added.

However, the state Congress unit clarified that it was PGI Chandigarh that decided on the invitation list for the event.

OneIndia News