Chandigarh – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the Bhagwant Mann led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had perpetrated a fraud on Punjabis by refusing to honour commitments made to different segments of society besides discriminating against farmers, youth and trade and industry in the 2024-25 State budget.
Reacting to the budget, Mr Sukhbir Badal said there was no mention or allocation for the Rs 1, 000 per month allowance promised to women which was to start immediately upon formation of the AAP government two years back. “This amounts to a backlog of Rs 24, 000 per woman till now”. He said similarly the government had run away from allocating any money for implementing the Old Pension Scheme despite having notified the same one year back.
Mr Badal said the AAP government had also played a cruel joke on the youth as well as the industrial sector. “A mere Rs 15 crore has been earmarked for the Punjab Entrepreneur Scheme indicating that it will be on paper only. Similarly only Rs 46 crore has been earmarked for the Punjab Hunar Vikas and CPYTE scheme”.
The SAD president said equally shocking was that the AAP government had only earmarked Rs 130 crore to provide assistance to farmers during natural calamities. “The erstwhile SAD led government had distributed an Rs 650 crore flood relief package in one year only”. He said similarly the government had played out a joke with the industrial sector by reserving only Rs 50 crore for incentives to new industries. “How will we stop the exodus of industry from Punjab to other States with such measly incentives? He asked.
Asserting that development and infrastructure building was also expected to come to a standstill; the SAD president said “it is shocking that only Rs 7, 500 crore has been reserved for capital expenditure in the Rs 2 lakh crore budget. This shows that this government has no intention to carry out any development and is happy in indulging in a PR exercise for Arvind Kejriwal for which it allocates hundreds of crores each year”.