CHANDIGARH: Qila Raipur MLA Jassi Khangura Thursday asked the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to justify his recent visit to Israel, along with a number of other officials, particularly when his earlier visit to that country 12 years ago had practically yielded nothing. 

In a statement issued here, Khangura reminded Badal that his previous visit to Israel was supposed to “explore areas of cooperation between Israel and Punjab in the field of rural development, particularly with a view to developing rural focal points, water management technologies and improving dairy technology”.

Quoting official records, the MLA said, the areas identified during the visit in 1997 included marketing and export of kinnows, cooperation in saline water management and an exchange programme which included training Punjabi farmers there and bringing Israel experts here for demonstration.  

He pointed out, after returning from Israel in 1997 Badal remained Chief Minister for four years and eight months. “Please tell us whether any progress was made on the areas that had been agreed upon by you and the Israel ministers and officials at that time? Whether you were able to fulfil even a single statement of intent that you so proudly announced 12 years ago? Whether a single Punjab farmer went to Israel for training?” he asked Badal, while adding, “you know the answer to all these questions, as everybody else in the state does, is a big NO”.

Khangura said, Badal has almost repeated the same things he said 12 years ago. “I am sure that, like in the past, nothing is going to come out in the follow up of the visit this time as well”, he remarked.

He observed, “if Punjab really needs to learn something about irrigation and dairy development would it not have been proper and appropriate to assign this job to the experts in the relevant field”. He said, the world is full of experts who are prepared to visit Punjab to offer their services. Instead of jumping on a plane with an entourage of many, it would be better to invite overseas experts to Punjab, he remarked. 

Suggesting the job could better have been done by experts, he told Badal, “you may have perfect expertise in political manoeuvring but I doubt whether you have any knowledge about the topics you claim to have discussed in Israel with the experts there”.

At the same time he asked, “why visit Dubai? Surely Sukhbir Badal has visited that place so often to be an expert on all that it offers? “