Punjab had lost out on investment in the last nearly five years of Congress rule : Sukhbir Badal

Says Punjab needed a positive agenda and a return to pro-people and pro-industry policies

Chandigarh, November 12 – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today said Punjab had lost out on investment in the last nearly five years of Congress rule because of anti-industry policies of the government which had done away with the Invest Punjab and Governance Reforms departments besides becoming a victim to the Congress party’s defamation of Punjabis as drug addicts.

The SAD president was addressing a select gathering of industrialists at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here during which its Punjab unit presented a manifesto “Making Punjab Future Ready”. CII Punjab unit President Bhavdeep Sardana focused on ensuring transparency in government functioning, digitization, reducing industry – government inter face and ensuring stability in government policies in his keynote address.

Speaking on the occasion,  Sukhbir Badal said he had already initiated the agenda prepared by the CII’s Punjab unit in his last term but the Congress government had jettisoned due to which the industrial investment climate had been completely spoiled. “How do you expect investors to invest in the State if the ruling party defames its own people by saying that seventy percent of them are drug addicts?” He said industry confidence had also been undermined by the continued reference to the words “khazana khali” by the Congress government and its top ministers.

Asserting that Punjab needed a positive agenda and a positive chief minister who believed in decisive action, Sukhbir Badal said “during the last nearly five years the Congress government has virtually gone back on all the initiatives taken by the State to attract industry which witnessed big players like ITC and Cargill investing in Punjab. The Invest Punjab department has been downgraded to such an extent that it remains on paper only. Industrialists now refer to it at Disinvest Punjab. The government also closed down the Right to Service department and the Suwidha Kendras purely because these initiatives were taken by the previous SAD led government. No State can go forward if pro-people and pro-industry measures are taken back. We are committed to reviving the Invest Punjab department besides taking all other needed decisions to ensure investment flows back into the State again once the SAD-BSP government is formed in the State”.

During a one on one interaction with the industrialists,  Badal assured that the focus of the next government would be on speedy development as well as on education and health. “We are committed to creating mega integrated schools at the block level besides creating 500 bed hospitals in all districts”. He said the government would also establish mega development centers which would be run in conjunction with the industry as per its requirements”.

Former CII Punjab Chairman  Ashish Kumar, BM Khanna and Amit Thapar besides others expressed their concerns and urged the SAD president to formulate special plans to bring the state industry back on track. They also wished  Badal luck for the electoral battle ahead, saying they wanted a stable government with a visionary leader as the Chief Minister of the State.