Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday launched a blistering attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government for compelling panchayats to part with their funds for flood relief, calling it a shameful display of fiscal bankruptcy.
Bajwa said the Bhagwant Mann government has miserably failed to provide even basic transparency on the ₹12,128 crore already allocated by the Centre to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). “Instead of showing where this money has gone, the government is now arm-twisting 288 panchayats to surrender 5% of their hard-earned reserves. This is daylight robbery of village funds meant for grassroots development,” Bajwa declared.
He made it clear that panchayats are free to contribute voluntarily, but no government has the right to forcefully divert local bodies’ money to cover up its own failures. “This exposes the AAP government’s shocking financial mismanagement. Punjab is so cash-starved under Bhagwant Mann that the government is now dipping its hands into village coffers,” Bajwa added.
Lambasting AAP’s fiscal incompetence, Bajwa reminded that Punjab’s debt burden is projected to cross ₹5 lakh crore by 2027, a direct consequence of the reckless economic policies of the Mann government. “Instead of holding tough negotiations with the Union Government for adequate flood relief, Bhagwant Mann is shamelessly squeezing the very panchayats that are supposed to build our villages,” he said.
Bajwa also tore into AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, saying his tall claims of financial expertise stand completely exposed. “Kejriwal never tires of boasting about his stint as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. He promised Punjab ₹34,000 crore annually by eliminating corruption and another ₹20,000 crore from mining. All of these promises have collapsed like a pack of cards. His so-called financial genius is nothing but a fraud played on Punjabis,” Bajwa thundered.
Concluding, Bajwa said the AAP government has lost both financial credibility and moral authority, and its attempt to plunder panchayat reserves is proof of its desperation and deceit.