M A I N   N E W S

SAD, BJP boycott Governor’s Address
No spare water for Haryana: Jacob
Tribune News Service

The Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), flanked by Speaker  Kewal Krishan, comes to address the 12th Punjab Legislative Assembly on Friday.

Chandigarh, March 14
Even as the Punjab Governor, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), today reiterated that there was no surplus water in the Ravi and Beas that could be spared for Haryana, the main Opposition, the Shiromani Akali Dal, and BJP boycotted the Governor’s Address and walked out shouting slogans on the opening day of the Budget session of the Punjab Assembly.

The Governor said that his government was committed to protecting the ‘’rights’’ of the state on waters. The state would have been spared embarrassment had the previous (Akali-BJP) Government defended the case in the Supreme Court which had directed completion and commissioning of the SYL canal.

General Jacob devoted a major part of his 80-page Address to eulogise the government for its performance in the first year and recounted its major achievements. These spanned from combating corruption to steps being taken to give an opportunity (in April-end) to those who lost their jobs as a sequel to the PPSC ‘’job-on-cash’’ scam. He also mentioned about the fiscal and economic reforms introduced last year and hinted at more ‘’hard and harsh’’ reforms after building ‘’political consensus’’.

SAD and BJP MLAs stage a walkout from the Punjab Vidhan Sabha after boycotting the Governor’s Address on Friday. — Tribune photo Manoj Mahajan

The Address expressed the Governor’s concerns over the declining share of Punjab in Central taxes, the Centre’s intentions to dismantle the minimum support price for foodgrains and its consequences on Punjab, special economic package given to Himachal Pradesh, J and K and Uttaranchal and its adverse effect on Punjab. Besides, he showed concern over the declining water table and listed priority areas of his government — developing the rural infrastructure and poverty alleviation, modernisation of industries to face WTO challenges, creating job opportunities, empowerment of panchayati raj institutions and local bodies as per the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments, diversification of agriculture and launching of ‘’the consolidated integrated rural development programme’’.

The Governor dealt at length on the power reforms in the light of the report submitted by the experts’ group.

His Address disclosed that in the field of education — general, technical and information technology — the government proposed to take major initiatives like restructuring government colleges and making them centres of excellence., introducing trade of information technology and electronic system maintenance in ITIs and improving citizen services and citizen interface under ‘’SUKHMANI’’—Smart, Unified, Knowledgeable, Honest/ Humble, Moral, Accountable, Novel Initiative.

Badal’s parallel speech

As soon as the Governor started his Address, Leader of the Opposition Parkash Singh Badal, stood up and started reading from a prepared text, delivering a parallel speech. Nothing he said was audible. He finished his reading in about seven minutes and led his party MLAs out of the House, shouting slogans against the government. Unfazed by the commotion, the Governor kept reading his Address.