Bathinda Member of Parliament and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab was making false claims about GST collection rising in the state, while it was actually sliding.
In a message posted on X, she wrote, “You (finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema) claim that Punjab’s GST collection has excelled in the first quarter of (financial year) 2026-27 but the official year-on-year data tells a different story. Punjab’s GST collection fell from ₹2,366 crore in May 2025 to ₹2,252 in May 2026, a drop of ₹114 crore, a negative growth of 5% annually.”
Harsimrat’s statement came a day after Cheema shared that the state had registered a growth of 24.45% in GST collection in the first quarter of the current financial year, climbing to ₹7,833.45 crore against ₹6,294.57 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, marking a gross increase of ₹1,538.88 crore.
While asking the AAP government to “stop cherry-picking data to paint a false picture of Punjab’s economy”, Harsimrat also claimed that Punjab had slipped to 17th position in the country, with 16 states and UTs performing better.
{{/usCountry}}While asking the AAP government to “stop cherry-picking data to paint a false picture of Punjab’s economy”, Harsimrat also claimed that Punjab had slipped to 17th position in the country, with 16 states and UTs performing better.
{{/usCountry}}