The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in a heated political exchange on Saturday over financial assistance for the ongoing floods in Punjab.
Punjab BJP president accused the AAP government of not utilising the State Disaster Relief Fund, demanding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to apologise to the people of Punjab, even as Mr. Mann said “the anti-Punjab face of BJP has been exposed as they did not help the State during tough time and that’s why they are now trying to divert attention with irrelevant talk.”
Also read | After the disaster: Punjab flood victims face displacement and livelihood loss
Hitting out at the AAP government, the BJP president pointing to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report, 2023, said “it clearly states that as of March 31, 2023, Punjab had Rs. 9,041.74 crore in SDRF funds, and according to the report, the State government violated central government rules by not investing these funds appropriately. Even after this, funds for the years 23–24, 24–25, and 25–26 have been received, which together amount to a total of Rs. 12,000 crore.”
Mr. Jakhar added that the funds from the SDRF are lying unused with AAP government. “It would be better if you (Chief Minister) apologised to the people of Punjab for misleading them and ensured the proper utilisation of these funds to provide relief to the public,” he said in his post on ‘X’.
