After launching a drive against social evils, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday asked every section, especially intellectuals, to stay united and fight the ‘vilification’ campaign launched by some vested interests to tarnish the State’s image.
Mr. Sukhbir Badal was addressing a gathering at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar.
Mr. Badal’s call came after industrialists from other States asked him whether they would get enough workers because there was a perception that most of the youths were drug-addicts. “I thought enough is enough. I must present the true picture about Punjabis,” he said.
Despite the record seizure of narcotics, he said, some persons were politicising the issue, though it was known that Punjab was only a transit point on the international smuggling route. He said Punjab had posted impressive growth. Its revenue grew from Rs. 3,072 crore during 2002-03 to Rs. 16,000 crore during 2013-14. The State stood fourth nationwide in revenue collection. During the same period, the State’s GDP increased from Rs. 82,000 crore to Rs. 3.75 lakh crore, and its debt to GDP ratio improved to 32.7 per cent against the national average of 68.5 per cent.
On the distribution of central taxes, Mr. Badal said that through an unfair formula, Punjab got just 1.35 per cent, while States like Uttar Pradesh received 19.7 per cent, though Punjab stood second on the national development index.
As the government wanted to create infrastructure to boost growth, the State had the highest road density of 133 km per 100 sq km. It would soon have all its major cities and towns connected through four-and six-lane highways.
