CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ruled out the possibility of any poll alliance between the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI) for the forthcoming Assembly elections, due in about 10 months.

Talking to reporters after attending the Easter prayer service at the Kalvlari Church in Ludhiana on Sunday, Capt Singh said that last time the party committed a mistake by aligning with the CPI, which could not be repeated. He added that State party unit president Shamsher Singh Dullo's statement that the Congress would go it alone in the Assembly elections as the party's prospects were better without an alliance with the CPI was right. He also declined to comment on any possibility of joining hands with the CPM, as there was `no such indication from them'.

On former MP from Faridkot Jagmeet Singh Brar, Capt Singh said that it was too premature to predict the next Chief Minister. Regarding some reports that Mr. Brar was being projected as the next leader of the Congress Legislature Party, he said selection was the prerogative of the Congress president after seeking the consent of the party MLAs. "Immediate task before the party is to win the elections," he said.

On whether Mr Brar's stance would invite any disciplinary action, Capt. Singh said he had already brought the matter to the notice of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Expressing his support for the farmers and the proposed call by Bharatiya Kisan Union to boycott the procurement of wheat by government agencies for not hiking the Minimum Support Price, Capt. Singh said he had urged the Union Government to enhance the MSP from Rs 650 to Rs 700 per quintal.

The Chief Minister said that the increase in MSP over the years had not kept pace with the increased prices of inputs. He said that while the cost of cultivation of wheat had shot up by 122 per cent, the MSP had increased by 60 per cent only.

He, however, defended the Government of India's decision to import wheat, which he argued was done to maintain the PDS, as the production in wheat-growing States including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is likely to decline due to erratic weather conditions. The import would not affect the procurement of wheat within the State any way, he assured.

Capt. Singh said the State Government plans to approach Reliance Energy chairman Anil Ambani to purchase power from the company's 3000 MW project being installed at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He said that though Mr. Ambani had already committed to supply 1000 MW power to UP, 500 MW to Haryana and Punjab, he would request for 1000 MW to meet the increasing demand due to mega projects. He said that Punjab was making efforts to augment the power supply as it had spent 24 per cent of the last year budget and had committed 25 per cent of the current budget to power generation.

Capt. Singh added that he also planned to meet Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata and Mr. Ambani at Mumbai next week to attract more investments in the State. Earlier addressing the Christian community, the Chief Minister said he was aware of their plight due to poverty.

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