Punjab Congress on Thursday demanded a White Paper on the state of finances in Punjab in view of the mounting debt that has crossed the ₹4 lakh crore. “Reckless borrowing by the AAP government has brought Punjab to the brink of bankruptcy,” the party said.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said all previous governments during the last three decades borrowed money; the current government has borrowed it with wanton greed without caring for the future of the state.
“While the previous governments accumulated ₹3 lakh crore debt in 30 years, the AAP added over ₹1 lakh crore to the state debt in just four years, and that too mostly for unproductive purposes. There was not a single infrastructure development project launched during the last four years,” Warring said.
Warring said this was quite contrary to the claims of fiscal prudence and revenue generation promised by the AAP leadership. “Now the situation is such that the state government has to take out a loan to pay the interest on the existing loans,” he added.
“Public money is not meant for political branding”, Warring said, adding, “When the state is drowning in debt, every rupee should strengthen Punjab’s economy and institutions and not promote a party’s image.”
{{/usCountry}}“Public money is not meant for political branding”, Warring said, adding, “When the state is drowning in debt, every rupee should strengthen Punjab’s economy and institutions and not promote a party’s image.”
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