Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Wednesday warned the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government against pushing the state’s economy towards bankruptcy, “beyond redemption by ill conceived populist freebies without making any proper financial arrangements for the same.”
In a statement today, Warring said that under the AAP government Punjab had got the dubious distinction of having the “record” debt to GSDP (gross state domestic product) ratio at 53.3 per cent, which is highest in the country.
Instead of taking any corrective and remedial measures, the AAP government was resorting to “wanton populism” that would further bleed the economy and eventually lead to its collapse and complete financial bankruptcy, he added.
The Congress leader questioned the sincerity of AAP government’s intentions of actually providing any relief to people. “When you know you can’t afford something you are promising, you are only cheating people,” he told the AAP government, while adding, the way it (government) was going on ‘freebie-spree,’ without making any financial back up plans, the economy was bound to get doomed.
The Punjab Congress chief quoted the example of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), which is reeling under heavy burden of subsidies. “In the name of zero bill, AAP is pushing Punjab towards bankruptcy”, he remarked, adding, “such populist schemes never survive if these are not backed up by proper financial planning and arrangements, which AAP has failed to do”.
Not only will this scheme collapse, it will also lead to collapse of the entire economy of the state, he warned.
As per a report, the Punjab government’s populist free power scheme, leading to “zero bills” for a majority of the domestic consumers, is burning a hole in the pocket of the cash-strapped PSPCL which has already raised a loan of Rs 2,300 Crore this year. The PSPCL is at present suffering a loss of over Rs 1,880 crore in contrast to a profit of Rs 1,069 crore it generated in March 2022, it said.