'Industrial package to HP, U'khand with an eye on LS polls'

The Congress-led UPA government had extended special industrial package to the neighbouring hilly states with an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed here today.
The Centre's move to extend special industrial package to the Congress-ruled Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh till March 2017 was in "violation of federal structure", Sukhbir alleged.
Slamming state Congress leaders for failing to take up issues of Punjab's interest with their party high command, he said, "Punjab congress leaders have limited themselves to beg before the high command only for party posts, and never bothered to raise any genuine demand for the state.

He further alleged that the anti-people policies of the Congress-led government had brought the country to the brink of an economic disaster, resulting in ever-increasing unemployment and sky-rocketing inflation.
He said the people of the country had already made up their mind to bring Narendra Modi-led NDA government.
Talking about the likely impact which the apex court judgement commuting the death sentences of Rajiv Gandhi's assassins could have on Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar's case, Sukhbir said he was hopeful of a positive outcome as the SGPC had taken up the issue with the President.
Rubbishing the Congress's demand for a CBI inquiry into the drug case, he said the state Congress chief was making the demand to derail the ongoing probe by Punjab Police, and he would not let their nefarious designs to succeed.