Amritsar to get IIM

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) for Punjab, announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the annual budget, would be set up in Amritsar, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said here Friday.

Interacting with the media after offering prayers at the Golden Temple here with his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal who is also the union minister for food processing, he said that the setting up of the IIM in Amritsar will give an impetus to development of the holy city and its adjoining areas.

Taking a dig at former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Badal said even though he (Manmohan Singh) belonged to Amritsar, he never worked towards bestowing a prestigious status on Amritsar.

Badal said that Thursday's union budget had spelt the end of an era of discrimination against Punjab at the hands of the Congress-led UPA government.

"The UPA government had never bothered to allot any significant project to the state. It is for the first time in a decade that Amritsar and Punjab have got their due," Badal pointed out.

Jaitley had contested and lost the recent Lok Sabha polls from the Amritsar parliamentary constituency.