In Parliament: Give Chandigarh to Punjab, says Malwinder Singh Kang

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Chandigarh/New Delhi, July 25

Chandigarh should be given to Punjab, said Anandpur Sahib MP Malwinder Singh Kang while participating in a discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha today.

Kang said: “When Andhra Pradesh is being given Rs 15,000 crore for its new capital, there is no justification in not giving Chandigarh to Punjab. Since its reorganisation in 1966, Punjab has not been given its capital, which was built utilising land of Punjab villages.”

Commencing his statement, Kang said, “The Budget is absolutely undemocratic, unconstitutional and anti-federal. The discriminatory Budget is against the spirit of Babasaheb Ambedkar.”

Budget Anti-Federal

The Budget is undemocratic, unconstitutional and anti-federal. The discriminatory Budget is against the spirit of Babasaheb Ambedkar. —Malwinder Singh Kang, MP

“At the same time, I’m very happy with the use of word ‘anndata’ for farmers by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Till a few months back, the BJP called the same farmers anti-national, Pakistanis and urban Naxals. Now when it came to acknowledging food for 80 crore people, they have been called ‘anndata’ by the FM. It is sad to point out that Punjab, which contributes more than 50 per cent to the food stock of the country, does not find a mention in the Budget. Sad they have not been given the MSP on crops that PM Narendra Modi had himself advocated while he was the CM of Gujarat,” Kang said.

“Unemployment is at its peak. An ‘agniveer’ was arrested for theft in Mohali district yesterday. In his confession, he said our only four-year service condition gives us no security. We have no future,” he added.

Kang said, “We have no objection to the BJP government giving special packages to Bihar and Uttarakhand, but I would like to point out that Punjab also witnessed losses worth Rs 1,680 crore due to flooding, but that fact did not find any mention in the Budget. Punjab needs to be given a special package as well.”