"Due to the financial injustice meted out to the state by the successive Congress governments, Punjab is reeling under staggering debt," he told a gathering at the 24th death anniversary of Sant Avtar Singh Seechewal here.
Punjab's economy was in a deplorable condition despite the state's enormous contributions to make the country surplus in food production, Badal said.
It was ironic that diligent farmers of the state who were feeding the whole country by filling the national food pool were themselves reeling under debt of more than Rs 32,000 crore, he said.
"The worst thing is that the state has been deprived of its legitimate share in revenue collections due to which its overall development has suffered adversely," Badal said.
Lashing out at the Centre, the Chief Minister alleged the Union government had framed policies to deliberately exclude the state from getting benefits.
"Due to such policies, the industry and agriculture of the state are on the brink of economic disaster," he said. MORE