Chandigarh-Partap Singh Bajwa, the Leader of Opposition in Punjab and a Congress leader, has sharply criticised the AAP government over its borrowing plans and the state’s rising debt burden. In a post on X around 15 hours ago, Bajwa wrote that Punjab is being mortgaged to fund AAP’s politics. He pointed out that the same party which promised not to take even a single penny in fresh debt is now planning to borrow ₹50,000 crore in just one year. According to him, Punjab’s debt is projected to soar to ₹4.47 lakh crore, leaving every Punjabi burdened with a debt of ₹1.04 lakh. Bajwa accused AAP of not building Punjab’s future but borrowing against it, saying future generations will be forced to pay the price for today’s political gimmicks and fiscal irresponsibility. Punjab’s outstanding debt has been rising for years under successive governments. Recent state budget documents and RBI as well as state finance data show liabilities already well above ₹3 lakh crore and climbing, with per-capita debt figures falling in the range Bajwa cites when projections are applied.
AAP’s 2022 Punjab election manifesto and early statements had emphasised fiscal discipline and avoiding unnecessary fresh debt. The current government has continued large spending on power subsidies, freebies, and welfare schemes while presenting budgets that include significant market borrowings and loans. The specific ₹50,000 crore annual borrowing figure and the ₹4.47 lakh crore projected total appear to come from opposition analysis of the latest budget estimates or medium-term fiscal projections. The AAP government has not publicly framed its borrowing plan in exactly those terms in official releases so far.
This is classic opposition politics in Punjab, where Congress (and earlier the Akali Dal) regularly attack AAP on debt and freebie economics, while AAP responds that previous regimes left the state in a fiscal mess and that current spending is directed toward development and relief for farmers and consumers. No major independent audit or CAG report released in the last few days has yet confirmed or denied the exact numbers Bajwa used. The exchange remains primarily political messaging ahead of ongoing state political battles.