CM Mann, Aman Arora must answer, where is the ₹12,000 crore SDRF fund, asks Tarun Chugh

Chandigarh, September 11, 2025: BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s claim that the Centre owes Punjab ₹60,000 crore is completely false and misleading. Had there been even a shred of truth in it, Punjab’s Finance Minister would have raised it during the GST Council meetings held over the last three years. A lie repeated a hundred times never becomes the truth.

Reacting to AAP State President and Minister Aman Arora’s “peanut” remark, Chugh said that as of 2022, Punjab — like every other state in India — was fully compensated for the first five years of GST implementation. Any funds released beyond that were outside the statutory mandate and depended solely on the discretion of the GST Council. Instead of being honest with the people, AAP ministers are indulging in petty politics during a disaster. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema never raised this so-called issue in the GST Council, proving that his and his colleagues’ statements are nothing but distractions to cover up the failures of the Mann government in this ‘Mann-Made Disaster’.

Chugh said that Punjab’s Chief Secretary presented flood losses of ₹13,289 crore before Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while in the same meeting Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian inflated the figure to ₹20,000 crore. These contradictory numbers reflect the AAP government’s irresponsibility and lack of credibility. Despite this, Prime Minister Modi immediately announced interim relief of ₹1,600 crore for Punjab. Adding this to the ₹12,000 crore already available under SDRF, the Centre has ensured ₹13,600 crore is at Punjab’s disposal.

Welcoming the Prime Minister’s decision, Chugh said that the release of SDRF’s second instalment and advance instalments under PM-Kisan will directly benefit farmers.

He further exposed how illegal sand mining continues unchecked across Punjab. In Sasrali village, Ludhiana, an FIR was filed against illegal mining on April 18, 2025, yet the Mann government has taken no action, proving that the sand mafia thrives under the political protection.

Chugh also slammed the mismanagement of the Bhakra Beas Management Board by the Mann Govt, which worsened the flood situation, calling it a direct outcome of CM Mann’s cheap politics and negligence. “That is why I call it a ‘Mann-Made Disaster’,” Chugh reiterated.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab today strongly countered, claiming “the false propaganda” being spread by BJP leaders over the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and released the actual official figures to the people of Punjab.

In a statement, Punjab Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemned the BJP for deliberately misleading the public on disaster relief funds. He said, “BJP leaders have been shamelessly peddling lies to defame the AAP government. The truth is now before the people, and every single rupee received and spent from SDRF is in the public domain. Unlike BJP, which thrives on deceit and diversion, we believe in transparency and accountability.”

Cheema presented the complete breakup of funds received by the Punjab Government from the Government of India under SDRF and the amount spent by the state since April 1, 2022:
2022-23: ₹208 crore received, ₹61 crore spent
2023-24: ₹645 crore received, ₹420 crore spent
2024-25: ₹488 crore received, ₹27 crore spent
2025-26: ₹241 crore received, ₹140 crore spent

From April 1, 2022, to September 10, 2025, the Punjab Government received a total of ₹1582 crore from the Government of India under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Out of this, ₹649 crore has already been spent on various relief and rehabilitation works across the state, while the remaining SDRF Balances are being used for ongoing and upcoming relief operations to ensure timely assistance to flood affected people.

Cheema hit back hard at the BJP leaders, saying, “Those who never stood for Punjab and its rights have no moral right to question us. They have been running a malicious campaign, hiding the real facts, and misleading the people in times of crisis just to score political points. This is not just irresponsible, it is shameful, even by BJP’s standards.”

Cheema challenged BJP Punjab leaders to stop their malicious campaign and answer why the Centre has been withholding thousands of crores of Punjab’s legitimate dues under various heads while trying to create a false narrative about SDRF.