SAD flays PM's visit

Chandigarh, Sep 27 (UNI) Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal today blamed the Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for failing to use the occasion of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to the state to secure a major relief and development package.

''After the Prime Minister's relief packages for farmers in Kerala and Vidarbha during his visits to those states, everyone expected him to make a similar announcement here. But it is clear that the state government had failed to apprise him of the gravity of the situation in the state, both on the industrial and the agricultural fronts,'' said the SAD president Parkash Singh Badal in a statement here.

The Akali leader urged Dr Singh to make a delayed announcement on the expected economic pakage for farmers, trade and industry in the state during his stay in Chandigarh. ''We will wholeheartedly welcome a liberal package, especially as the Chief Minister had already led the people of the state to believe that all the farmers loans would be waived off by the Prime Minister and a special economic package for the industry was in the offing. ''It is still not too late for the Chief Minister to persuade the PM to make this visit fruitful for the people of his home state,'' said the SAD chief.

Mr Badal regretted that the PM confined himself to setting up of panels on all major issues like the farmers' debt. ''Package not panels is what the Punjabis expected out of this visit,'' said the Akali chief.

Describing the Prime Minister's visit as a ''damp squib'' and a major disappointment to the people of Punjab, especially the famrers, Mr Badal said almost all the announcements made by Dr Singh pertained to old and ongoing development schemes, like the Galliara scheme, the Ludhiana ring road and extension of trade corridor.

''People expected a package on farmer's debt relief and on the problems of the industry in the state. We also expected some economic package on the lines announced by the Centre for Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. But the PM seemed unaware of the seriousness of the problems on these fronts in this sensitive border state. The state Chief Minister had obviously failed to advocate the case of the state before the Centre,'' said Mr Badal.

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