Chandigarh, March 8 (IANS) Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party’s working President Ashwani Sharma on Sunday said that the state Budget “is a major betrayal of the mothers and sisters of the state and is disappointing for farmers, employees and the common people too”.

Reacting to the Budget for 2026-27, proposing a total outlay of Rs 260,437 crore and projecting the state’s GSDP at Rs 980,635 crore with an estimated growth rate of 10 per cent, Sharma told the media here that the Aam Aadmi Party government, which was formed on March 16, 2022, will complete four years, i.e., 48 months, on March 16.

“If the Bhagwant Mann government was truly sensitive towards women, it should have made a provision in the Budget to give them a lump sum of Rs 48,000 for the past four years, calculated at Rs 1,000 per month,” he said.

Sharma said the government announced giving Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,500 to women, but has not allocated the full required budget for it. Approximately Rs 15,000 crore is required for this scheme, whereas only Rs 9,300 crore has been provided in the Budget.

“Moreover, the government has imposed a registration condition for the scheme. Just as the registration for the Rs 10 lakh health insurance scheme has not been completed so far, it is clear that the registration for this scheme will also remain pending for a long time, and women will not receive the benefits,” said the BJP lawmaker.

He said farmers have also been deceived because, despite electoral promises, the minimum support price (MSP) has not been provided for all 24 crops, and it has not been given a legal guarantee.

Sharma said the state government is presenting funds coming under the Central government schemes as its own. “Road projects worth about Rs 15,000 crore are under Central government schemes; houses being built for the poor, Rs 3,504 crore under AMRUT 2.0, and facilities such as new classrooms and computers in schools are also being provided through funds from the Central government.”

He further said that the Budget has also ignored health services and the interests of employees, which has led to disappointment among the people.

–IANS

vg/uk