The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s fiscal policies and resource management, alleging that the state is heading towards a “full-blown fiscal and administrative crisis” under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The statement came after the party highlighted rising debt, delayed welfare payments, and growing employee unrest, claiming that the state’s economy is slipping into a dangerous cycle of borrowing to repay older debts.
BJP spokesperson RP Singh said Punjab’s debt burden, which stood at nearly Rs 2.7 lakh crore when the AAP government took office in 2022, is now expected to touch nearly Rs 4.5 lakh crore by 2027 if current trends continue. He claimed that the government is pushing Punjab into a deeper debt trap.
According to him, the situation has now moved beyond “an accounting issue” and reflects signs of severe financial stress. He pointed to continuous borrowing, shrinking development expenditure, mounting interest liabilities, and delays in salaries, pensions, and welfare payments as indicators of administrative strain.
He further claimed that Punjab could spend more than Rs 42,000 crore on debt servicing during 2026–27, including nearly Rs 29,000 crore towards interest payments alone.
Singh alleged that teachers in aided colleges were facing difficulties due to delayed grants, while historic institutions such as Hindu College in Amritsar and Punjab University were reportedly under financial stress because of funding disputes and delayed assistance.
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