Indian parliamentary delegation in US to hold bilateral meetings

WASHINGTON: A multi-party delegation of Indian parliamentarians has arrived in the US to hold series of meetings with top American government officials, lawmakers and think-tank to exchange views on bilateral and regional issues.

Led by BJD leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, the seven-member delegation today met US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns at the State Department.

Other members of the delegation are Supriya Sule (NCP), Bhakta Charan Das ( Congress), Uday Singh (BJP), Partap Singh Bajwa (Congress), Manicka Tagore (Congress) and Prem Das Rai ( Sikkim Democratic Front).

The visit has been organised by Forums of Parliamentarians of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI).

The delegation will also be travelling to Boston. Yesterday, Indian American community - supports of the Congress party -- hosted a reception for Bajwa and other Congress party members of the delegation.

In his brief address, Bajwa urged the community to contribute to the development of Punjab.

Bajwa alleged the situation in Punjab under the Akali Dal (Badal) rule has deteriorated.

"Punjab is one of the Bimaru (sick) states now," he said. "There has not only been a decline in industrial productivity, Punjab is being left behind by other States in a number of key areas including agriculture," he alleged.