Chandigarh, (Samajweekly) Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab was completely exposed by its own admission and revelations made in the Budget 2022-23 that was presented in the 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 told the media here, while adding had it any plan or programme it would have been revealed in today’s budget only.
Taking a dig at AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s claims that he would generate Rs 20,000 crore from sand mining, Warring pointed out that the budgetary figures showed that the state earned just Rs 153 crore 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 crore which Kejriwal promised to save from corruption?” he asked.
Warring reminded the government that it had promised to pay Rs 1,000 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 said.
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.
A sum of Rs 200 crore was allocated for it. The same promise has been repeated this year as well, without any mention of having done anything so far.
He pointed out that the Budget promised to establish 16 new medical colleges over a period of five years, but this year it has proposed budget allocation for only two new medical colleges which means at this rate they would not even be able to start five colleges in five years.
Referring to the debt situation, Warring pointed out, the AAP government took Rs 31,000 crore loans in one year, while on an average the Congress government took Rs 15,000 per year and Rs 73,000 crore in five years.
At this pace, the AAP will indebt the state further by over Rs 1.5 lakh crore, he said, adding, the 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.
