Reporters' diary: A twist in the Badal tale
Mr Badal said an E-Cycle Valley would be developed in Ludhiana.
What’s new?
The agenda of Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to accelerate industrial growth in the state has not gone down well with the Opposition parties.
During his recent visit to Shanghai, Mr Badal said an E-Cycle Valley would be developed in Ludhiana. He claimed he has studied the entire ecosystem necessary to come out with affordable electric cycles.
“I am confident this can be implemented at Cycle Valley in Ludhiana. The Punjab government will fast-track permissions and allot land to all the five promoters who have decided to set up manufacturing facilities, including four Chinese and one Taiwanese company,” said Mr Badal. Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann, who is never short of words, was of a different opinion, as he quipped: “In the past as well, Sukhbir had planned some projects, like starting water buses and constructing roads that last for decades, but the reality is known to every Punjabi.
Few years back, he had gone to China with an army of officers to learn how to use wheat straw to produce electricity, but the fact is that a mill owner near Khamanon was already producing electricity out of wheat straw. Moreover, even Google or YouTube can teach you this technique. Then, what is the need for this show-off?” “The actual thing is that none of the Akali leaders, including Sukhbir, can go to countries like Canada and America as the Punjabi community residing there doesn’t even want to see the Akalis, so Sukhbir satisfies himself by going to Korea, China and Japan,” added Mr Mann. Some twist in the Punjab investment story, we say!
Test of a loyalist
Recently, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party MP Bhola Singh, known for his flowing Hindi oratory, asked Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan a pointed question. Mr Singh asked what was the “majboori” of the government that prevented it from adopting an aggressive approach against Reliance Industries, which is involved in various arbitration cases with the Centre? Mr Pradhan, a known Narendra Modi loyalist, tried to reassure Mr Singh saying that there was no “majboori” as the nation is being led by Mr Modi.
The witty MP immediately shot back by saying it’s fine that Mr Modi is the Prime Minister, but you too are Dharmendra and to top that, also a Pradhan (head of department in Hindi), so you too should be proactive. The repartee left the minister shaking his head in embarrassment and left the entire Lok Sabha in peals of laughter.