Borrowing becomes as indispensable for AAP as oxygen for mankind: Bajwa

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu) : With the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government about to exhaust its borrowing limit for the ongoing financial year 2024-25, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the government for creating financial chaos in the state. "Borrowing seems to have been as indispensable for the AAP government as oxygen for the existence of mankind. The entire functioning of the government has been dependent on borrowing funds. In September 2024, the cash-strapped Punjab Government sought an additional borrowing limit of Rs 10,000 crore for the ongoing FY from the Union Finance Minister to meet its expenses," Bajwa added.

Senior Congress Leader Bajwa said that the Punjab government, meanwhile, has no funds to pay the salaries and pensions of government employees. Owing to the scarcity of funds, around 243 buses have been on the verge of stopping operations. The government has neither released Rs 75 crore for employees' pensions nor has it cleared the dues of Rs 500 crore for the subsidised bus services for women.

"The economists have already estimated that the outstanding debt in Punjab will touch Rs 4,50,000 crore by the end of 2026-27, the last year of this government’s term. It was Rs 2,81,773 crore in 2022 when AAP formed the government. Instead of raising revenue from the promised sources, the AAP government kept on borrowing funds from the RBI and World Bank," Bajwa stated. Bajwa asked AAP's National Convener Arvind Kejriwal if he could explain why the AAP government in Punjab failed to raise the revenue of Rs 20,000 crore from mining and Rs 34,000 by ending corruption. "The people of Punjab must understand that eventually, they would have to repay the debt raised by the AAP government. The AAP will run away after two years," said Bajwa.