(Maheshinder S Grewal says CM owes explanation to Pbis as to how borrowed money was being used)
(Demands imm sacking of FM Harpal Cheema)
Chandigarh – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to list development works initiated by it as well as disclose capital assets created to justify the unprecedented borrowing of Rs 39,200 for nine months of the current financial year with Rs 14,700 crore being borrowed for the third quarter.
In a statement here, senior leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal said it was shocking that the AAP government was on a borrowing spree but had nothing to show as far as capital creation was concerned. “All development work as come to a halt and no infrastructure is being created on the ground. Chief Minister owes an explanation to Punjabis as to how the borrowed money is being used”.
Asserting that simultaneously the AAP government was spending crores every day on advertisements, particularly in poll bound States of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh gave credence to assertions that tax payer money of Punjabis was being used to expand AAP across the country. “The Punjab government is the major advertiser for the AAP election in Gujarat on the social media and the chief minister is also heli-hopping to the State every weekend”.
Stating that the AAP government was exacerbating the financial crisis created by the erstwhile Congress government, Mr Grewal said even as borrowings had increased the State was witnessing a decline in GST collections as well as stamp duty and registration of property. “The revenue expenditure has also increased making it clear that the State’s finances are being mismanaged”.
Demanding the immediate sacking of finance minister Harpal Cheema, the SAD leader said instead of addressing the issue, the finance minister was busy twisting financial data to cover up his failures. “Earlier Cheema tried to befool Punjabis by changing the laws of economics by lying about affecting an increase in GST figures when the opposite was the truth”. He said Cheema cooked up figures to show profit on Rs 11,464 crore loan to claim a record increase of Rs 10,604 crore when the actual collection in real terms in only Rs 1760 crore”. He said it was also true that the government was indulging in borrowings to repay loans instead of spending money on capital expenditure. “As much as 68 per cent of the total borrowings are being spent on payment of interest on the State’s cumulative debt of Rs Rs 3.05 lakh crore”.
Grewal said all this was having an adverse impact on the State’s economy with no new investments coming into the State. “Even home grown industry is choosing to invest outside Punjab which is resulting in further unemployment”.
