Allocate funds to fulfill poll promises, Akali Dal asks Punjab govt

Chandigarh, March 5 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), on Thursday, demanded Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to allocate funds to fulfill promises made to women, farmers, government employees and the common man or be ready to face the 'gherao' of its legislators when they visit towns and villages to campaign for the party in the 2027 state Assembly elections.

Addressing the media here, senior SAD leader N.K. Sharma said "the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has betrayed each and every section of society. We (SAD) demand Finance Minister Harpal Cheema to allocate Rs 1.57 lakh crore for various schemes it promised to implement in the forthcoming budget". 

Sharma added that the AAP had promised all women above the age of 18 years a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 per month in Punjab. 

"This allowance was to be paid to one crore women. The accumulated amount due to women for the 60-month duration of the AAP tenure is Rs 60,000 crore. The Finance Minister must ensure this entire allocation is kept in the forthcoming budget to ensure the party's promise can be kept."

The SAD leader said the youth in Punjab had been promised an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month and if one was to go by the data of the Rozgar Portal there were 22.60 lakh unemployed youth, who were registered with it. 

"If all these youth are to be given the promised allowance the state government must allocate Rs 40,000 crore for the same."

Asserting that the state government had promised a health insurance of 10 lakh to each citizen in Punjab, Sharma said the AAP government needed to allocate Rs 10,000 crore for this scheme.

"In the last budget Rs 773 crore was allocated for this scheme but the entire amount was spent on advertising it only. I also appeal to the Finance Minister to give a list of persons who have been given an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh under this scheme so that the truth about this scheme is known to everyone."

The SAD leader added that farmers had also not been given a compensation of Rs 12,000 crore, which was the amount under the Central disaster relief fund which the AAP-led state government had misused.

He also demanded that Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema keep aside Rs 10,000 crore to be used to implement the Old Pension Scheme as promised to government employees as well as the Pay Commission and release of 16 per cent Dearness Allowance. 

He said the state government should allocate Rs 10,000 crore due to the state electricity utility to pay off money due to it as well as allocate funds to ensure the industry could be given power for Rs five per unit as promised.

--IANS

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