‘Too little, too late: Punjab Cong chief Warring slams AAP govt’s Rs 1000 monthly allowance for women

Chandigarh: Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday described the state budget as the "wrap-up of a series of lies that the AAP was doling out all these years", pointing out that the state debt mounted by about 160% of the total budget .Reacting to the announcement of a Rs 1000 monthly stipend for women, Warring remarked, "It is too little too late, literally." He pointed out that the AAP won the elections in 2022 mainly on the promise of giving Rs 1000 monthly cash assistance to all women of the state. If the AAP was sincere in its promise, it would have announced the payment with the 4-year arrears, which amounted to Rs 48,000 for every woman, he said. "They didn't do it for 4 years, and even when they announced it today, they did not spell out the exact date from when the women will get this little money. It is like a post-dated cheque with no guarantee of getting redeemed, as the AAP is left with a limited time," he added. Referring to the mountain of debt that the AAP massively added to during the last 4 years, he said that while the budget allocation is Rs 2.60 lakh crore, the total debt is Rs 4.17 lakh crores, which makes it about 160% of the budget. He pointed out that there is no provision in the budget on how to address this serious challenge that threatens Punjab with bankruptcy. Warring asked when the women will start getting Rs 1000, while apprehending that the AAP govt may spend more money on "advertising the announcement" than actually paying money to the women. Besides, he asserted that women of Punjab deserve the money with arrears and not peanuts at the fag end of its term. He expressed strong apprehensions that the announcement will meet the same fate as the Rs 10-lakh health insurance scheme, which was lost in the clerical procedures of registration and identification only.