The Aam Aadmi Party’s freebie culture finally seems to be bearing down on the party as its government in Punjab sought a special package from the Centre to bail out debt-ridden farmers, weeks after it announced free electricity to households in the state.
On July 16, Saturday, the AAP government in Punjab requested the central government for a special bailout package for the farmers to help them tide over the crippling debt trap, promote crop diversification and also stop stubble burning.
Malvinder Singh Kang, the AAP chief spokesperson, said the demand for the special package was made by the state Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. The two had met at the national conference of agriculture and horticulture ministers of the states in Bengaluru, Kang said.
Kang said the AAP government had sought the package to address the financial distress suffered by the farmers, advance crop diversification and stop the persistent problem of stubble burning existent in the state, Kang added.
The AAP spokesperson further added that Dhaliwal had demanded Rs 15,000 per acre per year compensation for the farmers of the border areas to alleviate their financial woes. Kang said the farmers in border areas could tend to their farms only between 10 am to 4 pm.
Making a case for financial assistance from the Centre, Kang proclaimed that Punjab has been feeding the country and it is the responsibility of the central government in New Delhi to extend financial help to the farmers to defray their debts.
AAP government in Punjab promises 300 units of free electricity to households
The request for a special package came days after the AAP government in Punjab announced providing 300 units of free electricity to households from July 1, setting up 117 Mohalla Clinics and upgrading 100 schools as ‘schools of eminence’ in the state among other proposals.
Announcing the freebie scheme that has become a hallmark of the AAP governments, whether it is in Punjab or Delhi, the state finance minister emphasised that the government would fulfil its promise of giving 300 units of free electricity per month to each household from July 1, adding that it had already planned to finance this scheme by cutting wasteful expenditure and through enhancement of own tax revenue.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann meets PM Modi seeking Rs 50,000 crore package for Punjab
Earlier this year, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met PM Modi and sought Rs 50,000 crore per year for two years from the Centre as financial aid claiming the financial health of the state is very poor. Mann informed the prime minister about the financial condition of the state and told him that there is debt worth Rs 3 lakh crores.
However, critics termed it an attempt by the AAP government to prepare grounds to blame the Centre for the non-fulfilment of its freebie promises. AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had promised a round-the-clock free electricity supply to everyone in Punjab. He had also promised Rs 1000 monthly financial aid to all women above the age of 18 years in Punjab. He had also promised to renovate all schools and hospitals in Punjab and establishment ‘Pind Clinics’ along the lines of Mohalla Clinics where everyone will be treated free of cost.
