NEW DELHI: A Congress (I) MP Surinder Singh Kairon has criticized the Chief Minister for cutting the state’s socioeconomic problems on the back burner by emphasizing that Punjab was merely a law and order problem.
Unlike Jagmeet Brar who attracted disciplinary action by his unrestrained uitterance, Kairon was careful not to mention Beant Singh by name; He regretted that certain influential quarters in Punjab (an cuphemism for the CM) had projected the view that it was just a law and order problem.
This projection of newsmen, had presented the implementation of the economic package, He regretted that despite Punjab MPs repeated requests to the Prime Minister during a series of meetings and submission of a memorandum to P.V.Narasimha Rao listing the demands of the state, nothing had happened.
Things, he observed, did not move because the Chief Minister did not press for them as he should have. The state must be given a fair deal. Unemployed youth should be provided jobs through industrialization and otherwise, Rs.600700 crores due from Punjab to the Center as an expenditure on paramilitary forces deployed in the state should be waived.
Although resentful of Beant Singh’s inaction to get Punjab’s demands commended by the Center, Kairon had so far refrained from joining Jagmeet Brar’s public campaign against the Chief Minister.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 28, 1993
