The North News
Chandigarh, April 8
Opposition leaders in Punjab on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing it of deepening the state’s financial crisis by taking a fresh loan of Rs 1,500 crore. Leaders from the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress raised alarms over what they described as an alarming and unsustainable debt trajectory, warning that the new borrowing would push Punjab’s total outstanding debt beyond Rs 4 lakh crore.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that rather than working toward fiscal discipline or reducing liabilities, the government has continued to lean on borrowings, pushing Punjab deeper into financial stress. Reminding voters of AAP’s pre-election pledges, Majithia said the party had come to power with a clear promise of reducing Punjab’s debt burden and not imposing any additional financial load on the people.
He alleged that over the past four years, the government had done the opposite by resorting to continuous borrowing. He stated that this approach had not only inflated the state’s debt but had also weakened Punjab’s overall economic standing.
Congress Member of Parliament Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also attacked the AAP government over the fresh borrowing, alleging that the Bhagwant Mann administration was pushing Punjab toward a financial emergency. Randhawa claimed that development works across the state had stalled and that the debt burden per citizen had now risen to over Rs 1.26 lakh. He further alleged that during the tenure of the AAP government, the state’s debt had grown by more than Rs 1.33 lakh crore.
The former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab alleged that a major portion of this borrowing was being used to service past liabilities and to fund free electricity and subsidies. The opposition’s criticism reflects growing concern over Punjab’s fiscal health, with multiple parties now demanding greater transparency and accountability in how borrowed funds are being utilised. The AAP government is yet to respond formally to the latest round of allegations.
