Bhagwant Mann meets PM, seeks INR 1 lakh crore financial package for Punjab

New Delhi, March 24 (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday sought special financial package worth Rs one lakh crore from the Centre for the revival of state’s economy besides ensuring holistic development in the state during his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after assuming charge.

Mann called on Modi in his office at Parliament House this afternoon.

He apprised the prime minister about the poor fiscal health of the state and said the previous governments have left a whopping burden of Rs 3 lakh crore.

An official statement from the Punjab government said Mann sought immediate financial package of Rs 50,000 crore each for two years to put the derailed economy back on the rails.

He hoped that with this financial help, the state’s economy would become self-sustainable and economically viable during the third year.

Mann said his government on its own would also strive hard to fill the empty coffers by completely wiping out the mafia from the state, the statement said.

Raising another sensitive issue of national security, with Punjab being a border state, Mann also solicited wholehearted support from the Centre to foil the attempts of inimical forces across the border, which is well equipped with the latest techniques.

He also assured the prime minister that Punjab would provide all necessary assistance to the Centre in this regard and requested it to furnish the latest and hi-tech infrastructure to our state forces for anti-insurgency operations.

Terming the outcome of his maiden meeting with the prime minister after assuming charge as positive, Bhagwant Mann said the former promised all possible support and complete cooperation to make Punjab a vibrant state (rangla Punjab).

“If Punjab make rapid strides of development, then India would also eventually prosper,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

Mann said Punjab was like a stone studded in the ring of India, but lamented that this stone (Punjab) had gradually lost its sheen with the passage of time due to people’s “ill conceived decisions” to elect certain governments which ruled the state.

He said his government would leave no stone unturned to make Punjab the number one state in the country.

Mann presented a shawl and a bouquet to Modi as a goodwill gesture and the prime minister, in turn, wished him good health and a successful inning ahead as chief minister, the statement said.

Riding a wave for change, the Aam Aadmi Party won 92 seats in the 117-member state assembly in the recently held polls.

Mann has promised a crackdown on corruption and a slew of welfare measures for the state’s population.