Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
SAD’s Ajaypal Middukhera slams AAP Govt over alleged fiscal mismanagement, calls loan a burden on future generations
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, June 9, 2025: The financial future of Punjab is being mortgaged year after year under the weight of unprecedented and uncontrolled borrowing by the current government, said Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Ajaypal Middukhera on Monday, while slamming Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's AAP Government for initiating an additional Rs 1,000 cr debt.
“In a deeply concerning development, the Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Mann has initiated taking on an additional debt of Rs 1,000 crore, through a recent government stock(securities) auction - the notification of which was issued by the state government on May 22, 2025. This will add to an already unsustainable debt burden," Middukhera said in a statement.
Middukhera added, "What is more alarming is that this new loan is structured to be repaid over 21 years — until 2046 — tying the hands of future generations of Punjabis.”
Raising serious questions over the fiscal management of the state, Middukhera said: "At a time when the people of Punjab are struggling with unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, and an agriculture sector in distress, the government continues to borrow recklessly."
Citing data and recent financial disclosures, Middukhera emphasized that Punjab’s debt has ballooned to levels unseen in recent history, with little to show in terms of development or reforms. Middukhara said,"Punjab is in a big debt trap; the expected loan up to March 26 is Rs 4,25,000 Crores. Only in April and May the govt. has raised a Rs 11200 crore state development loan from RBI, the huge debt clearly shows the state govt's inability to handle Punjab's economy. Even to repay old loans, Punjab is raising new loans and no development work is going on in Punjab due to high interest cost."
"Substantial amounts are being incurred on providing unnecessary Chairman and OSD facilities for people imported from Delhi," he added.
“The promise was of 'badlav' (change), but what we see is financial decay. Every new loan is a step further into economic slavery. Who will repay this debt? Our youth, who are already forced to seek jobs abroad? Our farmers, already buried under loans? Or our children, who will grow up in a state held hostage by financial mismanagement,” he asked.
The Shiromani Akali Dal leader also demanded that the government place the full details of all loans taken since 2022 in the public domain, and come clean on how these funds have been utilized. “Transparency and accountability are not optional — they are essential for democracy. The people of Punjab deserve to know where their money is going and how their future is being shaped.”
This fiscal stress is compounded by a significant portion of its revenue being allocated to committed expenditures such as salaries, pensions, and interest payments, leaving limited fiscal space for developmental activities.