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Cong. may replicate Punjab Yatra in U.P.

Staff Correspondent

Party appreciates Amarinder's efforts: Soni

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh received a major shot in the arm on Tuesday with Union Minister Ambika Soni announcing that the Congress high command was seriously thinking of replicating his "Vikas Yatra" experiment in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal where, like Punjab, Assembly elections are due by March next year.

According to an official release, Ms. Soni, talking to reporters while participating in the third phase of the Punjab Vikas Yatra that began on Monday in the Doaba region, said that the party high command had appreciated the effort by Capt. Singh to apprise the people at the grassroots of the policies and achievements made by the Congress Government in the State.

She said that while in U.P. the party would project its future plans, in Uttaranchal it would highlight its achievements.

Meanwhile, striking a jubilant note over the `success' of the Yatra in Doaba, Capt. Singh said it was now for the Akalis to judge where they stood. "If the sea of humanity openly welcoming us on the roads is an indicator, the people have affirmed their faith in our pro-people policies and programmes. I am sure that our party would seek mandate in the coming elections exclusively on the plank of performance and development," he said.

Talking to reporters on the outskirts of Adampur town, Capt. Singh accused former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh of criticising his government out of sheer dejection. He said that first the Badals raked up the so-called Intranet scam, then the Ludhiana City Centre scam and now the Mohali land deals as the duo were habitual mudslingers.

Asserting that all the approvals in the Mega Projects Scheme were completely transparent, Capt. Singh said the underlying objective was to promote industrialisation in the State, with the Government acting as a facilitator, and not to retard the process of development as the previous Badal government did.

To substantiate his claim, Capt. Singh said that mega projects worth Rs.97,000 crore had been approved and the investment in these projects was likely to exceed the target of Rs.1 lakh crore with an employment potential of 20 lakh jobs when the empowered committee meets next week.

Out of this, housing and township projects worth Rs.38,000 crore were in the pipeline.

About the recent Supreme Court judgment relating to the Badals, Capt. Singh said that hearing in the corruption case against Mr. Badal was scheduled to begin from December 23, when the Government would press for framing of charges.

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