BJP Accuses AAP Of Pushing Punjab Into Financial Crisis

Chandigarh, Jul 12 : Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon on Sunday alleged that the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government has pushed the state into a financial crisis through continuous borrowing. He claimed that the government’s repeated loans contradict its claims of strong revenue growth. In a statement, Dhillon referred to the Punjab Finance Department’s July 10 notification announcing a Rs 1,000 crore capital raise through the re-issue of 7.55 per cent Punjab 2033 bonds. He alleged that while Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema frequently highlights growth in GST, VAT and excise collections, the government’s repeated market borrowings indicate financial stress. ExecutiveBranch According to Dhillon, the AAP government borrowed around Rs 24,000 crore in 2022-23, nearly Rs 28,000 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 34,201 crore in 2024-25. He claimed that by January of the 2025-26 financial year, the government had already borrowed over Rs 20,770 crore against its planned borrowing of Rs 49,900 crore, and has now added another Rs 1,000 crore loan. He alleged that Punjab’s outstanding debt has increased from about Rs 2.82 lakh crore in 2022 to around Rs 4.17 lakh crore and could rise to nearly Rs 4.48 lakh crore by 2026-27. Questioning the government’s fiscal claims, Dhillon asked why fresh borrowings were being undertaken if the state’s revenues had consistently increased over the past four years. He accused the government of burdening future generations with debt instead of strengthening the state’s economy. Dhillon demanded that the chief minister and the finance minister present the state’s actual fiscal position to the public and offer a credible roadmap to reduce debt instead of relying on repeated borrowings.