The budget session of the Punjab Assembly will begin on March 6 and is expected to witness heated debates. Opposition parties, Congress, BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, are preparing to corner the Bhagwant Mann government on key issues, such as deteriorating law and order situation and the rising debt burden of the state.
The AAP government, on the other hand, is likely to fulfil its election promise of giving Rs 1,000 to every woman. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema is expected to make the announcement while presenting the state budget on March 8. The session will begin on March 6 with the Governor’s address and obituary references, according to the tentative programme.
The state budget will be presented on March 8, which also marks International Women’s Day. Unlike the usual practice of presenting the budget on a working day, this time it will be tabled on a Sunday. The AAP government has already indicated that it plans to fulfil its promise of providing a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to every woman.
Last month, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had stated that the government would fulfil the election promise in the upcoming budget. This will be the last budget presented by the AAP government before Punjab heads to Assembly elections expected in early 2027.
According to the tentative schedule, a discussion on the governor’s address will be held on March 9. Discussions on the budget estimates will take place on March 10 and 11. Non-official business will be taken up on March 12. Legislative business will be carried out on March 16, after which the House will be adjourned sine die, according to the schedule.
During the session, opposition parties are expected to target the treasury benches on several issues. These include the alleged collapse of law and order, unfulfilled election promises, and what they describe as the ballooning debt of the state.
Congress MLA Sukhwinder Singh Kotli criticised the Mann government, accusing it of failing to perform on several fronts. He said if the government plans to start giving Rs 1,000 to women now, it should also clear the backlog payment of Rs 48,000 per woman. He said the AAP had promised the financial help soon after forming the government in 2022.
Kotli also demanded that the government release a white paper on the funds spent in the healthcare sector, as it continues to claim that a ‘sehat kranti’ (health revolution) has taken place in the state. He further said the AAP government had promised to construct 16 new medical colleges in Punjab, but not a single one has been completed so far.
The Congress MLA also alleged that the AAP had promised to make Punjab debt-free. Instead, he claimed that the government’s heavy borrowing would leave the state with a debt exceeding Rs 5 lakh crore.
A few days ago, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also criticised the government. He alleged that the state did not have enough funds even to pay interest on existing loans.
Despite this, the government has been announcing new schemes, which he claimed are aimed at gaining support ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, without a clear plan to finance them.
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