CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday urged the Centre to return donations received from Chinese companies or firms in which they have a stake.
Addressing a press conference here, Amarinder slammed the Modi government for receiving donations from Chinese companies at a time when the neighbour is involved in aggression at the border as they wanted to take our territory.
"The Union government should take a tough stand on China and return every single Chinese penny. I do not think we can afford to take Chinese money when our boys are being killed," he said.
"It is not a question of how much money has come. Even if one rupee has been received from Chinese companies at a time when Chinese are responsible for COVID-19 and for aggression against my country, it should be returned. India doesn’t need Chinese money to look after itself," he said.
He also named some Chinese companies which have made donations to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund.
Asked about the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor for Indian pilgrims, which Pakistan has already announced, Amarinder said, "The central government will take a final decision on this. If they ask my opinion, I will tell them that I am in favour of opening the Kartarpur Corridor with strict social distancing guidelines."
But he also said that the Indian government could not be ready for reopening the corridor in a short time.
Amarinder also said that there would be no further lockdown in the state and appealed to people to strictly adhere to the safety protocols. He said the COVID testing capacity would be enhanced to 20,000 per day by July end.