SAD-BJP rally in Delhi on Feb 22 for Punjab's demands

Chandigarh, Feb 1 (UNI) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its alliance partner the BJP will hold a Punjabi Rally in New Delhi on February 22 to demand a special package for the debt ridden agricultural community of the border state.

Besides this the rally will also demand extension of the special industrial package being given to the hill states to Punjab. The rally is also aimed at sending a clear message to the central leadership of the Congress to stay away from the religious matters of the Sikh community, which is the domain only of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandik Committee (SGPC).

This decision was taken at the Coordination Committee Meeting of the SAD and the BJP held here today.

" We have decide to highlight the demands of Punjab at this rally and demand justice for the state and its people", newly elected SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and state BJP chief Rajinder Bhandari said while addressing a joint press conference after the Coordination Committee meeting.

" We deserve the most as we contribute the most ", Mr Badal said while refering to the demand for special central packages for the agrarian and industrial sectors.

Refering to the crisis that the agrarian sector was passing through, Mr Badal claimed that the states farmers had not got their due for the hard work they had put in to make the country food surplus. " We will demand waiver of the debt of the farmers of the state at the rally", he added.

Punjab contributes 65 per cent of the foodgrains to the central pool, but unfortunately all these years, the agricultural community of the state had been ignored, he added. " Why cannot the fiscal package being given to certain Southern states be extended to Punjab", the SAD leader asked while pointing out that a few crores being collected by the central government from the states could be given for the Punjabi farmers.

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