The North News
Chandigarh, March 9
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema has defended the record of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab while criticising opposition lawmakers for staging a walkout during a debate in the state assembly. Speaking during a discussion on the Governor’s address in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Cheema said the departure of members from the Indian National Congress showed they were unwilling to face what he described as the government’s development record.
The finance minister said the administration led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had prioritised youth employment, claiming that more than 63,000 government jobs had been provided since the party came to power in 2022.
He added that the government had expanded capacity in Industrial Training Institutes by 20,000 seats to strengthen skill development and improve technical education in the state.
Cheema also criticised previous governments over their handling of the drug problem, saying the AAP government had launched an anti-drug campaign called “Yudh Nashean Virudh” to tackle the issue.
On social justice, he said the government had introduced reservation for Scheduled Castes in the recruitment of government lawyers, leading to the appointment of 58 advocates from disadvantaged communities.
The minister also highlighted efforts to expand irrigation infrastructure, saying canal water had been restored to thousands of acres of farmland.
Concluding his remarks, Cheema said the current administration was the only government in Punjab to have fulfilled all the guarantees it made to voters.
