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PM to lay foundation for airport in Ludhiana district

Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH: Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to pay an official visit to Punjab on December 19 and 20, he along with Congress President Sonia Gandhi will also be addressing election rallies during the Congress campaign for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State.

This was disclosed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh while talking to reporters on the last day of the third phase of his `Punjab Vikas Yatra' in Nawanshahr district on Wednesday, according to an official release here.

He said the Prime Minister during his visit would launch Rs.250-crore scheme under the Jawaharlal Nehru Renewal Mission and lay the foundation of an international airport at Halwara in Ludhiana district.

The Chief Minister said Ms. Gandhi and Dr. Singh had agreed to address rallies during the election campaign. The Congress president is slated to address four rallies at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and in a southern district as proposed by the State unit of the Congress.

Capt. Singh avoided a direct answer to a poser related to the possibility of the Prime Minister announcing any special economic package for the State. He said that in the last two years Punjab had received a financial grant of more than Rs.10,000 crore, which was the highest so far.

On the other hand, he said, the Akalis could manage only a 50-crore grant from the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for the 300th anniversary of Khalsa Panth in 1999. "Of this, only Rs. 43 crore was spent and the remainder was swindled."

Expressing confidence borne out of the success of his Yatra, which has covered 42 constituencies so far, Capt. Singh said "winnability" would be the sole factor for allotment of ticket for the upcoming elections.

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