'Plethora of lies', 'disappointing': Opposition slams Punjab budget

The opposition in Punjab on Wednesday slammed the state budget presented by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in the assembly, calling it "a plethora of lies" and said it "disappointed" all sections of the society. The Congress, BJP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal targeted the Bhagwant Mann government for not announcing Rs 1,000 per month for women which was one of the key poll promises of the AAP before coming to power in the state. Finance Minister Cheema presented a Rs 2.36 lakh crore budget for 2025-26, focusing on tackling the drug menace, extending health insurance cover to all families, doubling the annual insurance cover to Rs 10 lakh and launching a 'Rangla Punjab Vikas' scheme for holistic development.
Reacting to the Punjab budget, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh dubbed it as "a bundle of regressive vision" which holds no promise for the development of the state. No new initiatives have been announced either for farmers or for industrialists, said Chugh. Taking strong exception to the Mann government's alleged "failure" to keep its electoral promises, Chugh said women in the entire state once again felt disappointed.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa dismissed the state budget as "a plethora of lies and deceitfulness". "It has been an extremely disappointing budget. FM Harpal Singh Cheema has disregarded all the sections of the state including women, farmers, service class, students, and the business community," said the leader of the opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly. Bajwa said Punjab has been the "second-most debt-ridden" state in the country under three years of the AAP regime.The Congress leader said despite "lofty" claims, the AAP government remained "inefficient" in making an effective enhancement in the budget for the education and health sectors.
SAD leader and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the AAP government of "betraying" Punjabis in the state budget by "going back" on all promises made to them. The government has "discriminated" against farmers, women, youth, traders, state employees and weaker sections of society, he said. "The budget has no funds for capital expenditure with only Rs 10,000 crore being allocated for this head even as the state debt will rise to Rs 4.17 lakh crore, with a debt of Rs 1.54 lakh crore being accumulated during the AAP tenure alone. This means there will be virtually no funds for
development," he claimed.He said the AAP government had announced that it would establish 16 new medical colleges."Now it has announced in the budget that only one new medical college would be established in the state in the next two years."