CHANDIGARH: Two SAD Ministers and one Member Parliament on Monday lambasted Congress for trying to divide Punjab on regional lines by propagating that one region in Punjab was getting more share than other in development projects. 

Taking serious view of the irresponsible accusation of Congress leaders in a section of the press saying that Malwa was getting more development projects than Majha and Doaba, SAD leaders Rattan Singh Ajnala, Bikram Singh Majithia and Gulzar Singh Ranike today described these news reports as a divisive policy being perpetuated by Congress leadership to divide Punjab on regional lines.  They termed the accusation totally baseless, politically motivated, factually incorrect and highly misleading. 

Ridiculing the Congress leaders for their myopic and whimsical approach restricted to petty politics for their personal gains, the SAD leaders accused them for their dubious role to scuttle the efforts of the SAD-BJP Government to ensure overall and balanced growth of the State. The SAD leaders said that Congress leadership was getting ruffled due to sustained development drive by Parkash Singh Badal whereas their own leader Capt. Amarinder Singh remained busy in pursuing the policy of leisure and pleasure.   They blamed the previous Congress regime for grossly ignoring the interests of the state due to their political and vested motives.  "Except making tall claims and false promises, the Congress Government failed on every front be it agriculture, industry, infrastructure, social security and education", the SAD leaders asserted.  "What to talk of initiating new projects, Amarinder Singh tried to scuttle Bathinda refinery to protect the interests of one private refinery group", the SAD leaders commented. 

Taking a dig at the Congress for not even adding a single unit of power, the leaders said that our government had accorded the top most priority to the power sector to make Punjab self-sufficient in power generation during the next three years.  "Sincere and concerted efforts on the part of SAD during its earlier stints has fructified into the setting up of Thein Dam, two units of Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabat besides the prestigious Rs.16000 crore Bathinda Refinery that too was stalled by the Congress government due to the reasons best known to them, said these leaders.   The government had already embarked upon an ambitious programme to generate additional power of 12000 MW in the state within next three years.  The construction work on Talwandi Sabo Thermal plant with an installed capacity of 1980 MW had already been commissioned and the foundation stone of another 540 MW thermal plant at Goindwal Sahib would be laid on October 18.

The SAD leaders also mentioned that the State Government had earmarked Rs. 5500 crore to provide basic civic amenities of water supply, sewerage, street lighting and storm water in all the towns and cities of the state towards a major thrust to improve the quality of life in the urban sector. They said that the SAD-BJP government was committed to provide excellent infrastructure in the state because any state or nation could not prosper and grow for the want of requisite infrastructure. 

Referring to the massive infrastructure growth, these leaders pointed out that the Mohali International Airport besides upgradation of Amritsar and Sahnewal Airports and setting up of new civilian terminal at Bathinda and Flying Academies at Faridkot and Sultanpur Lodhi were the major projects in the field of civil aviation. The road infra structure in the state was all set to undergo a major transformation with Eight Lane Expressways connecting Mohali and Chandigarh with Phagwara,   Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda and Ferozepur and four-lane access to all the other major destinations in the state. The SAD-BJP government had released Rs.165 crore for the development of the holy city of Amritsar besides the government had expedited the work on various infrastructure projects under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission from Amritsar city.  The government had set up special Development Authorities for both Amritsar and Jalandhar for their planned and integrated urban development.  A super expressway linking Pathankot with Ajmer would be built at a cost of Rs. 8600 crore.   The rural road network was also being strengthened with 7200 KMs of link roads being repaired and 2200 new link roads being laid. "In the transport sector, Punjab will become the first state in the country to introduce air-conditioned bus service at nearly normal fares. We are on the threshold of a quantum leap on almost every sphere of development," said these leaders.

The leaders also categorically said that the SAD-BJP government during its last tenure executed the prestigious projects of Rajasansi International Airport and Pushpa Gujral Science City at Kapurthala. 

Asking the Congress leadership to tender a public apology, the SAD leaders said that their government was committed to make Punjab No.1 state in terms of development index and was committed to ensure planned and equitable development of all sections and regions of Punjab.  They further urged the Congress leaders to play the role of "constructive opposition" rather than restricting to making such irresponsible and divisive statements.