Senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday lashed out at the Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema for handling the state’s economy so poorly as it has reached the verge of collapse. “The Finance Ministry of Punjab, under Harpal Singh Cheema, should be renamed as the Ministry of Debt Raising. Ever since the Aam Aadmi Party formed the government in Punjab, and Harpal Singh Cheema got the finance portfolio, the state’s debt burden has been going up dramatically,” he said.
“Before AAP got hold of power, Punjab’s outstanding debt was Rs 2.82 lakh crore at the end of the financial year 2021-22. Meanwhile, by the end of this fiscal year (2024-25), the outstanding debt is likely to touch an alarming Rs 3.74 lakh crore,” he said.
Qadian legislature said that under Cheema’s Finance Ministry, Punjab Government does not even have funds to pay the salaries and pensions of the Punjab Government employees on time. Several employees held protest demonstrations lately to get their monthly salaries.
“In March, around 20 people died by consuming spurious liquor in Sangrur. Cheema, who also holds the excise portfolio, has not yet explained how exactly that tragedy happened. Is he trying to save the actual culprits?” he asked.
The opposition leader said that the AAP Government replicated Delhi’s liquor policy in Punjab. Delhi's liquor policy has already been probed. Therefore, a judicial probe into Punjab's liquor policy should be conducted, he said.
