Chandigarh, December 23: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday termed SAD’s demand for Manpreet Badal’s resignation over the fiscal situation in the state as ridiculous, considering that it was the Akalis who were wholly and solely responsible for the financial crisis which his government was striving hard to resolve.
For 10 years, the Akalis messed with the state’s economy for their own vested interests, pointed out the Chief Minister, recalling that his government, in his previous term, had left a robust economy, which the SAD-BJP regime ruined with their ill-conceived and anti-people policies. All the money in the state’s coffers was wasted away by the Akalis and their allies, the BJP, during their decade-long misrule, with no positive measures taken to boost the economy, he added.
Industry and businesses were forced to flee the state as a result of their negative policies, which completely crushed investor sentiment, leading to a huge debt burden that his government was still struggling to alleviate, Captain Amarinder lamented. What’s more, just months before the 2017 Assembly elections, the then SAD-BJP government added a Rs 31000 crore loan burden on the state on account of food grain procurement for the central pool, he pointed out, which had aggravated the fiscal crisis of Punjab, the Chief Minister further noted.
The critical economic situation of the state was a legacy which his government had inherited from the Akalis, who were now shedding crocodile tears over a crisis of their own making, said the Chief Minister. It was shameful that instead of regretting their actions and apologising to the people for the same, the Akali leaders were now seeking to put the blame of the financial mess on his government and finance minister, Captain Amarinder added.
His entire government, particularly the Finance Ministry, was doing everything in its power to revive the economic situation by restoring investor and industry confidence, said the Chief Minister, pointing to the Rs 50000 crore on-ground investment already realised through the new industrial policy and the ease of business promoted by it.
Unfortunately, the Central Government’s failure to manage the GST revenue and pay out the state’s share of it in time was obstructing his government’s efforts to restore the economy in Punjab, Captain Amarinder lamented. It was notable, however, that the SAD was a part of the NDA government at the Centre too, and yet they had the audacity to try and pin the blame for the fiscal problems of the state on the incumbent government, he noted.
The Chief Minister asked the Akali leadership to focus on reviving its own political fortunes instead of worrying about the state’s economy, which was in good hands now.
