Chandigarh, Mar 26 (PTI) The opposition in Punjab on Wednesday slammed the state budget presented by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in the assembly, calling it "a plethora of lies" and said it "disappointed" all sections of the society.

The Congress, BJP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal targeted the Bhagwant Mann government for not announcing Rs 1,000 per month for women which was one of the key poll promises of the AAP before coming to power in the state.

Finance Minister Cheema presented a Rs 2.36 lakh crore budget for 2025-26, focusing on tackling the drug menace, extending health insurance cover to all families, doubling the annual insurance cover to Rs 10 lakh and launching a 'Rangla Punjab Vikas' scheme for holistic development.

Reacting to the Punjab budget, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh dubbed it as "a bundle of regressive vision" which holds no promise for the development of the state.

No new initiatives have been announced either for farmers or for industrialists, said Chugh.

Taking strong exception to the Mann government's alleged "failure" to keep its electoral promises, Chugh said women in the entire state once again felt disappointed.

"The AAP government's failure to grant Rs 1,000 to women reflects how insensitive the Punjab government is to the issues of women," he said.

The staggering increase in the state debt reflected how poorly the economy is being handled by the AAP government, he alleged, highlighting the issue of outstanding debt of the state.

Chugh said the budget is "alarmingly silent" about the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises or other new employment generation alternatives.

The budget offers no incentives for lakhs of unemployed in the state, nor does it talk about redressing the grievances of the farmers, he said.

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa dismissed the state budget as "a plethora of lies and deceitfulness".

"It has been an extremely disappointing budget. FM Harpal Singh Cheema has disregarded all the sections of the state including women, farmers, service class, students, and the business community," said the leader of the opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly.

Bajwa said Punjab has been the "second-most debt-ridden" state in the country under three years of the AAP regime.

"In the upcoming financial year (2025-26), the AAP government will raise a loan of Rs 49,900 crore. Consequently, the state's outstanding debt will be Rs 3.96 lakh crore by the end of next financial year. When the AAP got hold of power in March 2022, the outstanding debt in Punjab was Rs 2.73 lakh crore. Is this what FM Cheema was boasting about," he asked.

"The agriculture sector is the most crucial sector of Punjab. The allocation of Rs 14,524 crore for the agriculture sector is nothing but a cruel joke with the farmers of Punjab," Bajwa added.

The Congress leader said despite "lofty" claims, the AAP government remained "inefficient" in making an effective enhancement in the budget for the education and health sectors.

"Subsequently, the people belonging to the weaker section will remain deprived of quality education and health services. The industrial sector has been completely ignored. There is only a negligible allocation for revival of the industry in Punjab," he said.

SAD leader and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the AAP government of "betraying" Punjabis in the state budget by "going back" on all promises made to them. The government has "discriminated" against farmers, women, youth, traders, state employees and weaker sections of society, he said.

"The budget has no funds for capital expenditure with only Rs 10,000 crore being allocated for this head even as the state debt will rise to Rs 4.17 lakh crore, with a debt of Rs 1.54 lakh crore being accumulated during the AAP tenure alone. This means there will be virtually no funds for development," he claimed.

Badal said "there is no mention of the promised Rs 1,000 per month to women. There is nothing for the youth, including any unemployment allowance. The old age pension has not been increased to Rs 2,500 as promised." The government has not planned for increasing electricity generation and has failed to earmark any funds for a new thermal power plant, he said.

"Government employees have also been backstabbed with no funds being earmarked to implement the old pension scheme whose notification has also been issued by the government," said Badal.

Asserting that the AAP government had played a cruel joke on Punjabis by shifting the timeline for eradication of drugs to the next two years, the SAD leader said "this is an admission of the government's total failure to control this menace".

He said the AAP government had announced that it would establish 16 new medical colleges. "Now it has announced in the budget that only one new medical college would be established in the state in the next two years." PTI CHS KVK KVK