Dr Singh addressing
an election rally in his hometown Amritsar, he asked the electorate
to overthrow the present regime and bring back Congress to power in the
state."Punjab
was a golden land till a few years ago. The state was a frontrunner for
many years and had done wonders in agriculture, industial sector and
food production.”
"It
had no parallel in Sabyachar (culture) not just in the country but
around the world. But, now it lags behind," Dr Singh told the rally.
He
said after being number one state in the country, Punjab had fallen
back and alleged the SAD-BJP government was responsible for this.
He said even small and neighbouring state Haryana had left Punjab behind. Haryana was carved out of Punjab in November 1966.He
accused the Badal government of failing to sincerely implement and
properly utilise funds provided to the state for carrying out
developmental activities.
Speaking
in Punjabi, Dr Singh, in his nearly 35-minute speech, said the Congress
rule between 2002 and 2007 had seen a swift pace of development in the
agrarian state.
He
said there had been little development during the SAD-led dispensation,
adding power problem and unemployment had aggravated during its
rule.The Prime Minister said education and health sectors remained
totally neglected during the SAD rule.He said the UPA government had
always kept in mind the interest of Punjab.
The
Central government had been liberal in allocating projects to the state
and ensuring that its development took place without any
discrimination, he said.
It
had provided 2,700 doctors and para-medics, and set up 126 primary
health centres besides giving ambulances to the state, the Prime
Minister said.
"We
also gave an IIT in Ropar and the Indian Institute of Science Education
and Research at Mohali, set up a Central Unviversity in Bathinda and
upgraded Amritsar's medical college at a cost of Rs 150 crore," he said.
The
Prime Minister said it was his greatest desire to have a Central
University in Amritsar but the state government had expressed its
inability to provide land for the project.
Referring to the education sector, the Prime Minister said the Centre had given Rs 3400 crore to the state for its improvement.
The Centre had also helped in setting up 824 primary centres and appointing 15,000 teachers, he said.
Appealing
to the people to vote for the Congress to ensure all-round and
equitable development of the state, he said if his party came to power,
it would take effective steps to make the state drug-free.
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