CHANDIGARH:  The Punjab Chief Minister  Parkash Singh Badal Wednesday asked his cabinet colleagues to refrain from issuing 'irresponsible statements which contradict the declared party and government line and create confusion on the government  commitment to the cause of the people.

Taking notice of a statement by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal about stopping subsidies, Badal said, "No individual should put his personal interest thinking is above the party's and the government's vision".'

 Badal said that every member of his cabinet and every SAD-BJP legislator should stay committed to the programmes and policies on which they have received a mandate from the people during the elections. "I strongly disapprove of the politics of saying one thing to the people during the election campaign and doing exactly the opposite once in government. That's how we are different from the Congress." He said that every minister has to perform creditably the ideological framework given by the party. The people have given their mandate on the basis of that ideology."

The Chief Minister strongly defended his government's pro-poor and people friendly welfare policies and declared that the SAD-BJP government would continue with these policies,  including subsidies, pensions, free-power, cheaper atta daal for the poor  and Shagun scheme for dalit girls.

"Let me end the confusion once and for all. These policies are here to stay and we have no intention at all of betraying the trust which the people of the state have placed in us. This is not a government of the rich and the famous."   He said that as a responsible representative of the people, he would be guided only by the objective of the welfare of his state and by his conscience.

"I cannot betray my people just to score a few brownie points. I am not here to be successful at the expense of the suffering people of my state. I have to stay true to my salt and be equal to the promises which I have made to the people during the elections," said the Chief Minister in a statement here today.

 "Besides", he said, "these schemes are based not  only on our deepest sense of commitment to the people but also on sound economic management sense. These are not populist measures but are an integral part of the incentive-based and growth-oriented economic policies. They have shown results already." Mr. Badal pointed out that thanks to the free-power to the farmers, the state registered a record 30% increase in agricultural production. If the farmers of Punjab had not come to the rescue of the country, it would have been pushed into a serious food crisis. Also, the increased production resulted in major economic boon for the farmers themselves.

The Chief Minister, however, said that Punjab was not alone in giving such subsidies. "The government of India and even advanced countries like the USA resort to heavy subsidization in key areas like agriculture as well as to welfare polices. This, he said, was done in order to encourage economic growth and to fulfill their social commitments.

Badal said that each member of his cabinet should always remember the strong ideological commitments of the SAD-BJP combine.  "This government is not for the rich and the famous. It is government which cares for the toiling masses, the farmers, the small traders, shopkeepers, employees, the poor, the dalits and the backward classes etc. who form the back bone of the state's economy. They look only at the SAD-BJP government with hope, expectation, and faith. We will not betray their faith," declared the chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also showered high praise on department of Excise and Taxation that had scripted "an amazing success story which is unprecedented in the history of the country." The department pulled the state out of a situation of deep despair and placed it firmly on the path to emerging as the number one state in the country. This had been achieved even while the state government gave subsidies and incentives to trade and industry amounting to over Rs 300 crore. Also, the government did this without resorting to any extra taxation or to coercive methods.

Bestowing laurels on the officers and officials or the Excise and Taxation department, Mr. Badal said, "When we took over, Punjab was placed at the 24th position in rate of growth in revenue generation in excise and taxation. At the end  of our first year  in government,  we were able to activate the major engines of economic growth and take the state to the 9th position. In the first five months of this year we have made record progress, registering a growth rate of 44% to climb to the third position. At this rate, we would touch the target of Rs 7500 crore at the end of this year. This will make Punjab the Number One state in the country in terms of growth rate. To think, there was a time when some people thought we would not be able to reach even our plan target of Rs. 5000 crore! The record growth rate  speaks about the success of our policies and our approach to fiscal a management," said Mr. Badal.