Punjab Congress today took on the ruling SAD-BJP alliance over its allegations of "step-motherly treatment" by the Centre, saying the NDA under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had discriminated against Punjab and now it was adopting double standards.
State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa claimed that the ruling alliance was trying to hide its follies on the economic front, and said he would soon meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a special package for industrialisation in the state.
"It was the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in, which both SAD and BJP were partners, that discriminated against Punjab while giving special industrial package to hilly states including Himachal Pradesh in 2003," Bajwa alleged.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Sukhbir Singh Badal of SAD, who were then ministers, did not oppose the package, Bajwa said, charging the NDA with discrimination against Punjab.
A delegation of SAD-BJP alliance earlier today demanded a special industrial package from the Centre, including tax concessions at par with those granted to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while making allegations of step-motherly treatment against the Centre.
Accusing the alliance of adopting double standards, Bajwa said he was making efforts to meet the Prime Minister and senior Congress leaders to get a special industrial package, and the rulers had never supported his demands.
"The only aim of raising hue and cry over special package to hilly states was to divert public attention from vital issues like involvement of SAD ministers in drug racket, deteriorating law and order, and poor economic condition in the state," he said.
