CHANDIGARH: Senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has strongly condemned the statement of CM Parkash Singh Badal in which he had accused the successive congress government for neglecting the border areas of state.

Releasing the fact and figures, Randhawa said that it was the congress government at centre which has issued Rs. 122 crores for Punjab under Boarder Area Development Programme (BADP). In financial year 2006-07 Dr. Manmohan Singh led UPA government released Rs. 32.73 crores, in year 2007-08 it released Rs. 21 crores and the remaining amount was released in present financial years.

"Beside of whopping Rs. 122 grant to uplift the infrastructure in Border Areas, the PM has also sanctioned a central university for Amritsar, whereas the Sports Minister MS Gill has announced to open a youth hostel at Tarn Taran", said Randhawa.

 "Actually it was the failure of the state government, which Badal trying to conceal by making false statements as the Punjab Government had failed to use half of grant released under BADP in last financial year", he added.

 Presenting more facts before media, Randhawa said that the PM had formed a committee of border state finance ministers, which met every month to review the ongoing and to draw new development projects. "However, the Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had attended only 2 meetings after taking over reins, which shows that how much the Badal government was concerned for development of border areas", he said.

Beside that the CM and his son Sukhbir Badal must disclose that what projects they had brought for border areas during their tenures as ministers in central government, he questioned.

He said that instead of perusing the development policies, the  SAD-BJP government was only indulging in violence and booking congress workers in false police case.