Amarinder slams proposal to construct helipad on research land

Punjab Pradesh Congress chief Amarinder Singh today criticised the state government's proposed decision to construct a permanent helipad on the research land in the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
"This reflects extreme level of insensitivity of the government towards agricultural research in the state, when it is required the most," he said in a statement issued here.
Amarinder said, in case the Akali government goes ahead with the decision, he will scrap it after Congress forms the government in 2017 and will return the land to the PAU for the research.
The former Chief Minister said, there was no point in constructing a permanent helipad in the PAU and that too, on a land meant for research, when helicopters have already been landing in the PAU ground.

He said, the matter got delayed and later both the
governments (of Badal and Devi Lal) fell, followed by fresh elections where both of them lost again.

Capt Amarinder quoted Devi Lal's speech delivered in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on March 1, 1978, where he (Devi Lal) said, "hamare aappas ke taluqaat (mutual relationship with Badal) ka sabb se pehla nateeja yeh nikla hai aur woh aapke saamne hai ki hamari sarkar Badal sarkar ke sath baat-cheet karr ke iss nateejey parr pahunchi hai ki unhoone notification (for land acquisition) jaari karr diya hai".
He said, Devi Lal made these remarks as the opposition members in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha had referred to his personal relationship with Badal.

In the same speech, the PCC president further quoted Devi Lal saying, "mein ek baat yeh be batta du ki session (Vidhan Sabha session) ki wajjah se rukaawat padd ghai, varna mujey uss function (for laying the foundation stone of the SYL in Punjab) ko preside karna tha aur Badal Sahab ne uska udd-ghaattan (inauguration) karna tha".