State BJP President Ashwani Sharma said that it has been only 15 days since the new government was formed in Punjab and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken a loan of Rs 3500 crore from the market. Sharma questioned whether this is the Delhi model of Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann? He said that the economic condition of the Punjab government is so pathetic that the present government of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) does not know what to do. Sharma said that when Bhagwant Mann was in the opposition, he often used to give big speeches saying that the treasury is not empty, only the cask is empty. Sharma raised a question as to why is Bhagwant Mann now taking loans from the market instead of filling the empty treasury?
Punjab is indebted to the tune of Rs 3 lakh crore. The Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann has so far taken a loan of Rs 3500 crore to meet its expenditure. The present Punjab government had earlier taken a loan of Rs 1,500 crore from the market on March 16. After that, on March 23, the day of the martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the Bhagwant Mann government took another loan of Rs 1000 crore for 20 years at an interest rate of 7.19 percent. On the same day, another Rs 1000 crore loan was taken at a different interest rate of 7.41 percent for the same 20 years. The government has to repay this debt by 2042.
Ashwani Sharma said that the Aam Aadmi Party had made many big promises of freebies to fool the people of Punjab and win the assembly elections. “Why does Bhagwant Mann not implement the Delhi model, and is only taking loans to run the Punjab government? Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann repeatedly talked about implementing the Delhi model in Punjab! Looking at the speed at which the Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann is taking loans, it is going to be very difficult for Punjab in the coming days,” Sharma said.
Sharma further reiterated that the previous Punjab government had given interest of Rs 12,722 crore on the first loan till February 2022. “The way the Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann is taking loans from the market, it seems that soon Punjab will reach the verge of bankruptcy,” Sharma added.