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Political slugfest over financial aid to women: Freebie politics hallmark of AAP, Congress, alleges Saini
A fresh war of words broke out between Haryana and Punjab on Monday over the competing financial assistance schemes for women the neighbouring states have announced, turning populist pre-poll promises into a political slugfest.
A fresh war of words broke out between Haryana and Punjab on Monday over the competing financial assistance schemes for women the neighbouring states have announced, turning populist pre-poll promises into a political slugfest.
After Punjab’s AAP government dismissed Haryana’s ₹2,100 a month Lado Lakshmi Yojana a “jumla” while unveiling its own ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 monthly aid for women in the state budget, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday retaliated both inside and outside the assembly and termed the Punjab’s announcement “election-time freebie politics.”
Inside the assembly Saini’s attack on Punjab was indirect and measured when during an intervention he hit out at the AAP government, saying that Haryana was “targeted” in a Budget speech. However, outside the House Saini launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Punjab government over its women’s cash assistance scheme after completing four years in power.
“The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is indulging in election-time freebie politics...people of Punjab are disillusioned with the AAP government led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann...They have made up their minds to bring about a change in power in the next assembly elections (due in February-March 2027),” Saini said in a news conference.
“They failed to fulfil earlier promises and are now coming out with bigger ‘revris’ than even the previous Congress government. In contrast, the BJP government in Haryana fulfilled its promise of financial aid to women just within months of assuming power…,” he said.
Responding to the Punjab government’s budget announcement of providing ₹1,500 to Scheduled Caste (SC) women and ₹1,000 to other women, the chief minister claimed that the AAP government is making such promises with the upcoming assembly elections in mind.
“These announcements will not benefit the party politically as the people of Punjab have already decided to bring about a change in the government,” Saini said.
He claimed that whether it was the earlier Congress governments or the present AAP regime, both had a history of making populist promises and distributing “freebies” during elections.
The chief minister said that whenever people from Punjab meet him, they complain that the Punjab government is “creating hurdles” in implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“As a result, many eligible beneficiaries are unable to avail the scheme’s benefits,” he said and accused the Punjab government of obstructing his programmes during a recent visit to the state.
He said that whenever the Punjab chief minister visits Haryana, he is always accorded full respect in accordance with the protocol due to a chief minister.
Saini alleged that the state machinery is being used to obstruct his public programmes in Punjab. “When I hold programmes in Punjab, the venue is shifted multiple times. In one instance, a tent was uprooted and the land dug up to prevent it from being set up again. This is not how a democracy functions,” Saini said, adding that AAP was adopting the “tactics of Mamata Banerjee”.
“Like in West Bengal, they stop buses carrying our workers. But people do not like such tactics and will respond in the elections.”
