Vajpayee may take up cudgels for industries

Staff Reporter/ New Delhi

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday assured a delegation that he would take up the matter of industries on a priority basis with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"He has given us a very strong assurance and we are hopeful justice would be done to industrialists," Delhi BJP chief Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The delegation comprised, among others, South Delhi BJP MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Vijay Goel, Rajesh Gupta, Shyam Lal Garg, and Ved Gupta. "Since the State Government, led by Sheila Dikshit, is not willing to safeguard the interests of lakhs of people dependent on industries, Mr Vajpayee's intervention holds a lot of hope for them," Dr Vardhan said.

The delegation also apprised Mr Vajpayee how industry owners were being harassed by different agencies by disconnecting power and water supply. "Since these are non-polluting industries, the Government need not shift them," Dr Vardhan said.

He added that the party would intensify the agitation if the Centre and the State Governments failed to come out with a comprehensive proposal to deal with the problem. "We want the Government to do justice to industrialists and the lakhs of people working there," he said