AAP govt in Punjab on borrowing spree: Akali Dal

Chandigarh, Nov 18 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday asked the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab to list development works initiated by it as well as disclose capital assets created to justify the "unprecedented" borrowing of Rs 39,200 crore for nine months of the current fiscal 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 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."

Claiming that simultaneously the AAP government was spending crores every day on advertisements, particularly in poll-bound Gujarat, he said that it gave credence to assertions that tax-payer money was being used to expand the 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 government was exacerbating the financial crisis created by the previous Congress government, 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 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 1,760 crore.

He said it was also true 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 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.