Reacting sharply, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “This cut in the borrowing limit is financial strangulation of the state, especially at a time when the Union Government is already imposing cuts on pending dues such as the Rural Development Fund. Earlier, we had agreed and started routing all funds through the consolidated fund. But despite that, these financial cuts are being imposed on the state.”Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also hit out at the state government, holding it responsible for Punjab’s mounting fiscal crisis.“Against the limit of Rs 47,076.40 crore sought by the AAP government, a cut of Rs 16,676 crore has been imposed. The question arises: why does the Punjab Government depend so much on borrowing? Why could the AAP government not raise revenue from other sources as promised before the Assembly elections?” Bajwa asked.“AAP’s National Convener, Arvind Kejriwal, boasts about being a financial expert. He served as a Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS),” Bajwa stated.Before the Assembly elections in Punjab, he promised to raise revenue from sources, including Rs 20,000 crore annually from mining and Rs 34,000 crore annually by ending corruption. Where has his expertise gone now? Due to the financial mismanagement under the three-year regime of AAP, Punjab has been badly caught in a debt trap,” he added.He added that in 2022, when the AAP came to power, the state’s outstanding debt was Rs 2,81,773 crore. By the end of this fiscal, the public debt is projected to touch Rs 4.17 lakh crore. Economists have warned it could reach an alarming Rs 4.50 lakh crore by the end of 2026-27, the final year of this government’s term.“It’s high time Punjab’s Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema, woke up from deep slumber. What has the AAP government been waiting for? The people of Punjab must also understand that the AAP will not be able to form government in 2027. It is the people of Punjab who will have to pay back such a huge debt eventually,” he said.
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