Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here on Thursday that the Reserve Bank of India report, which puts Punjab among the top three investment destinations in India during 2012-13, should serve as an eye-opener to the Congress leaders who always tried to paint a negative picture of the state.
Punjab finished ahead of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal, to be one of the three most attractive investment destinations in the country, according to the figures released by the Reserve Bank of India. Orissa and Maharashtra finished number one and two, respectively.
He said that conducive law and order situation, an atmosphere of peace and communal harmony, ideal labour relations, top-grade infrastructure, improved power scenario and an investment-friendly industrial policy were some of the reasons that resulted in pushing Punjab up among the top three destinations in the country. "The Congress leaders see nothing of this and are busy trying to portray Punjab as the worst state in the country. They should now try and contradict the report of the Reserve Bank of India, if they can," said the chief minister. "The Congress leaders in Punjab have been spending all their energies on running down their own state and its achievements. They are out to defame their own state as a part of a well-planned agenda to stop investments from coming here. Their speeches had adversely affected the investment climate in the state in the past as potential investors developed wrong and unfriendly notions about us," he said.
Their speeches and actions had adversely affected the investment climate in the state in the past as potential investors developed wrong and unfriendly notions about us, we performed creditably despite all this," said Badal
The Chief Minister said that Punjab's performance was all the more creditable when one considers that India on the whole slipped badly on the investment sector. "At the all India level, numbers confirmed the go-slow on investments." according to the RBI report. "In the light of this, Punjab's showing is not only heartening but also an indicator of better things to follow. Investments are the key denominators of growth and the trend indicates that we have turned the corner towards economic resurgence. I am not saying we do not face challenges. But we have defied heavy odds to emerge as a front runner in the country. I hope the Congressmen, who spend sleepless nights criticizing their state's economy will sleep peacefully and quietly now," said the CM.
