CHANDIGARH: The Leader of the Opposition (LOP) Partap Singh Bajwa Saturday rebuked the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government for seeking financial assistance from the World Bank after wreaking havoc on Punjab's economy.
Senior Congress Leader Bajwa said that in September 2022, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a loan of $150 million to Punjab to help the state better manage its financial resources and improve access to public services. Once again, the AAP government in Punjab has approached the World Bank with its begging bowl to combat the major problems the state is facing.
"Can Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema let the people of Punjab know where they spent the $150 million loan approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in September 2022?" Bajwa asked.
Bajwa said that after the AAP took power in 2022, the outstanding debt in Punjab was Rs 2.60 lakh crore. Now, due to the AAP's faulty policies and mishandling of the economy, the outstanding debt in Punjab is estimated to be Rs 3.74 lakh crore by the end of this financial year. In September this year, the fund-starved AAP Government sought an additional borrowing limit of Rs 10, 000 crore for the ongoing fiscal. The AAP has plunged the state into a grave economic crisis.
"It is not the AAP that will repay the loan but the people of Punjab will have to repay the debt eventually. The AAP government has not only been fleecing the people of Punjab with heavy tax loads but it has put the lives of the future generations at a serious financial risk, " said Bajwa.