Chandigarh, July 1 (IANS) Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of pushing the state into financial ruin.

Bajwa highlighted the government’s reliance on heavy borrowing, warning that the state is on the brink of bankruptcy.

“The AAP government has drowned Punjab in debt over its three-year tenure. It now plans to borrow Rs 8,500 crore in the second quarter (July-September) of this fiscal year — Rs 2,000 crore in July, Rs 3,000 crore in August, and Rs 3,500 crore in September. This reckless borrowing shows no regard for the state’s financial health,” Bajwa said in a statement.

He pointed out that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has appointed former IMF senior economist Arbind Modi as Chief Advisor and former World Bank economist Sebastian James as Advisor (Fiscal Affairs) to revive Punjab’s struggling economy.

However, Bajwa questioned the effectiveness of these appointments, stating, “Is this the expertise that globally renowned economists are offering the AAP government? Even AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who often boasts about his revenue management skills, has failed to support Punjab in its hour of need.”

Bajwa noted that when AAP assumed power in 2022, Punjab’s outstanding debt stood at Rs 281,773 crore. By the end of 2025-26, the debt is projected to reach Rs 400,000 crore, with economists estimating it could climb to Rs 450,000 crore by 2026-27, the final year of the AAP’s term.

“The people of Punjab will bear the burden of this massive debt through heavy taxation. The AAP government will vanish from Punjab long before the next Assembly elections,” Bajwa warned.

Contrary to the Congress leader’s assertions, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed that Punjab has seen a record-breaking 44.44 per cent growth in net Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for June 2025 and a substantial 27.01 per cent growth for the first quarter of this fiscal, marking the highest-ever GST revenue growth in a fiscal quarter and for June in the state’s history.

He said the state has outpaced the national average in GST growth, firmly positioning itself among the top-performing states in tax mobilisation despite facing national and geopolitical challenges, including border-related tensions.

–IANS

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