CHANDIGARH, 10 MARCH: Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today said that the Aam Aadmi Party government was today completely exposed by its own admission and revelations made in the budget that was presented today in the Punjab legislative assembly.
“This budget has proved to be the harsh reality check for the government in which it has miserably failed”, Warring said while remarking, “the budget 2023-24 is an admission of failures and frustrations of the AAP government”.
“This is not what we are saying, it is the government which is admitting that Punjab is on the brink of bankruptcy and the state government has no vision to save it”, he said, while adding, had it any plan or programme it would have been revealed in today’s budget only.
Taking a dig at the AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s claims that he would generate Rs 20,000 crores from sand mining, Warring pointed out, the budgetary figures showed that the state earned just Rs 153 crores from sand mining last year.
“Either you have pocketed the balance amount or you must apologise to the people of Punjab that you lied about income from sand mining”, the PCC president told the government. “And what about Rs 34,000 crores which Kejriwal promised to save from corruption?” he asked.
Warring reminded the government that it had promised to pay Rs 1000 every month to every woman in the state. “You are already there for a year and you seem to have completely forgotten that promise”, he told the government,
Similarly, the PCC president added, in 2022-23 budget the AAP promised to shortlist 100 existing schools and upgrade them to the institutes of eminence. Rs. 200 crores were allocated for the same. The same promise has been repeated this year as well, without any mention of having done anything so far.
He pointed out, theBudget 2022-23 promised to establish 16 new medical colleges over a period of 5 years, but this year it has proposed budget allocation for only 2 new medical colleges which means at this rate they would not even be able to start 5 colleges in 5 years.
Referring to the debt situation, Warring pointed out, the AAP government took Rs 31000 cr worth of loans in 1 year while on an average the Congress government took Rs 15000 per year and Rs 73000 cr in 5 years. At this pace, the AAP will indebt the state further by over Rs1.5 lakh crores, he said, adding, today’s budget has proved the popular fears right that this government is completely incompetent and inefficient not only in terms of governance, but also a failure in terms of financial management.