Majithia criticises Amarinder for raising bogey of vendetta

Chandigarh, May 5 (UNI) Punjab Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today criticised former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for raising the bogey of vendetta, saying it was nothing more than "shrieking in desperation to grab attention and secure cheap publicity." In a statement here, he said the fact of the matter was that Capt Amarinder Singh had been intrigued by the extra-ordinary tolerance, magnanimity and patience shown by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in dealing with cases of corruption against his political rivals.

"How many Congress men have been arrested or even interrogated on false corruption charges? How many times has the police raided the houses or harassed the kin of Congress leaders, including Amarinder Singh? How many of them have been even summoned to police stations for routine interrogation?", asked Mr Majithia, maintaining that Mr Badal was determined not to allow rule of law to be violated even against those who had subjected him to unspeakable mental torture and disgrace.

The Minister said that the speed and energy with which Mr Badal had set about repairing the damage done to Punjab's socio-economic by the previous regime had completely un-nerved Mr Amarinder Singh and his colleagues.

"In less than two months, Mr Badal has secured an additional 395 Mega Watts of power from the center, Rs 3035 for infra structure development and Rs 100 crore for rural education", he said.

The Chief Minister had cut the BT cotton prices by half, doubled the amount of compensation to farmers for damages to crops, released Rs 125 crore as relief to industrialists and set the process of atta-daal supply for poor in fast motion, Mr Majithia said.

He said that Mr Badal had ensured transparency in excise policy and secured Rs 145 crore for the state, compared with just 25 crore last year.

He said "this blistering pace of governance has left the Congress huffing and puffing in political desperation and they have no issue to talk about. Hence this bogey of vendetta", said Mr Majithia.

UNI