Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj Gen B C Khanduri (retd) on Saturday accused the UPA Government of discriminating against the state and balmed it for the state’s woes.

Speaking at a function held to celebrate the first anniversary the BJP Government in the state, Khanduri alleged that the UPA Government reduced the tax benefit time for the industries in the state from 2013, given by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, to 2007. “It was after much persuasion that the time was again raised to 2010. But this is not enough. Already there is a flight of industry from the state,” he said.

The Chief Minister said his Government has been pleading with the Centre to extend the tax benefit till 2013 as most of the industry would not be able to avail the tax benefits in the short time. “Most of the industries coming to the state now would need two years to go to production and by then the tax benefits would come to an end,” he said.

Khanduri refuted the allegations that his Government was not able to spend the budget amount. “We are way ahead of the previous Government in developmental works,” he said.

Khanduri also tried to please the hardliners in his party by giving cheques worth Rs 25,000 each to 12 pilgrims from the state, who had completed pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.

On the other hand state Congress chief Yashpal Arya and Leader of Opposition Harak Singh Rawat termed BJP's one-year rule in the state as a period of “failures and disappointments”. “The Pauri Garhwal bye-election showed that the people had lost faith in the BJP despite there slender win,” Arya said.