BJP criticises UPA govt at the Centre

Jamshedpur, July 28: Jharkhand BJP unit president Dineshanand Goswami today criticised the UPA government at the Centre for its alleged non-cooperation with Jharkhand and said the UPA government's ''indifferent approach'' was responsible for the prevailing poverty, unemployment and backwardness in the tribal state.

The UPA government in the Centre was holding up funds meant for development, which has led to the present situation in Jharkhand, he told a press conference here.

"We(BJP) had forwarded several proposals in the energy sector which were at the verge of getting the union cabinet's approval. But the Centre deliberately did not approve the proposals, hampering the development in the sector," Goswami claimed.

The UPA government at the Centre was neither allocating coal blocks nor allowing Jharkhand to fix royalty on minerals which resulted in huge loss to exchequer, he alleged demanding that the royalty on minerals should be based on its value rather than the existing weight-based formula.

The 8500 km road construction work under PMGSY was hampered in the state because funds were yet to be released, whereas money was being released for states ruled by the Congress, Goswami alleged referring to Rs 15,000 crore sanctioned for Andhra Pradesh recently.

The Arjun Munda government in Jharkhand had identified 11 lakh BPL families but the Centre had not approved the list nor was it supplying foodgrains for them.

The state government was already providing benefits for 23 lakhs BPL families, he added.

PTI