AAP’s budget is for poor and middle class, previous governments benefit only rich-class

Chandigarh: Hitting out at opposition leaders for misleading people of Punjab over debt and fiscal condition of Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday accused the Congress and SAD-BJP for pushing the state on the brink of bankruptcy during their regimes and said that the Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann is now working dedicatedly to bringing state’s economy back on track.

Addressing a press conference here at the party’s headquarters, state chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said that the Punjab government budget was a depiction of the common man’s voice while previous governments had presented a budget that benefited only the rich and their corporate friends. He said that the Mann government has not only repaid Rs 36046 crores of debt, including principal payment of Rs. 15946 crores and interest payment of 20100 crores, but has also spent a stupendous amount of funds on giving welfare scheme benefits to people of Punjab.

Apart from this, Mann government has also deposited Rs 3000 crore in the consolidated fund in the last one year, while only Rs 2900 crore was deposited in this fund in the five years by the Congress government, which shows the intent of the AAP government that it is spending money only to uplift the state and on the welfare of people.

Lamenting that the government departments including PRTC were left in shamble amid absence of grants during previous regimes, Kang said that the assistance of Rs 2000 crore provided to bailout various government agencies, including Rs 885 crore to the Punjab Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank, Rs 300 crore to Punsup, Rs 400 crore to Sugarfed, Rs 135 crore to District Cooperative Banks, Rs 36 crore to Milkfed, and Rs 10 Crore to Fazilka Sugar Mill. The government-run transport is also in profit.

The AAP spokesperson said that AAP is a party of pro-farmers and pro-people but it has also protected the interest of employees as the 6 per cent dearness allowance instalment was also paid to the Punjab Government employees besides paying Rs 1150 crore dues of Judicial Pay Commission pending since 2016. He stressed that the burden would not have increased so much if the previous governments had made the payments on time.

Highlighting that funds spent on welfare of common people in the last one year, Kang said the state government set up over 500 Aam Aadmi Clinics, besides providing 600 units of electricity per billing cycle at free of cost and 90% of households of Punjab avail the benefit of it. Likewise, setting up 117 Schools of Eminence, and giving over 26,000 government jobs within a year, not only required funds but a clean intention for development, which only AAP has, he added.

Kang said that 45% hike has been recorded in Excise revenue but previous governments had given contracts to private firms and caused loss of crores to state treasury. He bemoaned that instead of appreciating efforts of the government, opposition are opposing the policy for their vested interests.