Punjab News Express/ SK.Vyas
JALANDHAR: In a simple function held here at Jalandhar today, Punjab Ekta Party announced the formation of its Beopar wing and appointed Sh. Ashwani Patheja as its President. While presiding over the function Khaira said that he was very sure that the appointment of Sh. Ashwani Patheja will strengthen the party amongst the shopkeepers, traders and industrialists of Punjab.
On this occasion, Khaira called upon all those Punjabi families, traders and businessmen who fled Punjab during the bad days of militancy to come back to the state for which his party will ensure an honourable rehabilitation policy prior to the 2022 elections. Khaira said the family of Ashwani Patheja of Kotkapura was also a victim of the black days that the state witnessed forcing him to move out to Jaipur. Khaira said although the family of Sh. Ashwani Patheja maintained their old base at Kotkapura but thousands of families migrated out of Punjab fearing loss of lives and properties. Khaira said although the traditional parties Congress and Akali Dal always aroused the passions of these victimised families and played cheap politics over it but never bothered to ensure a rehabilitation policy despite having formed governments post militancy period.
Khaira said that our Beopar wing will suggest appropriate reforms and measures to be adopted to restore the devastated industry of Punjab, particularly the small and medium scale. Khaira said successive central governments have always discriminated the industry of Punjab by offering huge tax holidays to the neighbouring hill states. He said it is a matter of record that the junior Badal was the Minister of Industries in the Vajpayee government in 2004 when the first package of tax holiday was announced for the hill states of J&K, HP, Uttarakhand etc. He said this policy was followed by Dr. Manmohan Singh led Congress government for 10 years and now again the Modi government has further enhanced for another 10 years the said tax holiday to hill states.
Khaira said as per RTI information, more than 20000 small and medium scale industrial units of Punjab had either shut down or fled Punjab due to a non-congenial atmosphere, red-tapism, rampant corruption and the said discriminatory policy of the central governments. He said that the draconian policies of Note band and GST ushered in by the Modi government have further added to the woes of traders and industrialists in Punjab.
Khaira said it is a common knowledge that Punjab is a landlocked state with a sealed border of Pakistan denying its manufacturers a level playing field to market their products. He said there is a dire need to have a revolutionary review of the industrial policy of Punjab, to ameliorate a lot of traders and industrialists in the state. He said although the Badal and Capt. Amarinder Singh often made lofty claims of mega investment coming into Punjab but nothing has turned into reality on the ground. Khaira promised to ensure a vibrant and level playing field for the industry of Punjab if voted to power in 2022. He once again reiterated and appealed to all the migrant Punjabi traders to come back to their home state of Punjab as his party will ensure their honourable rehabilitation.