Congress, Akali-BJP govts 'plunged' Punjab into debt: AAP's Raghav Chadha

AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Monday accused the previous Akali-BJP and the current Congress government in Punjab of pushing the state into debt.

Every child born in Punjab has a debt of Rs 1 lakh on their head right after being born, Chadha claimed in a statement here.

"The Congress and the Badal governments have made Punjab a debtor of Rs 3 lakh crore in the last 50 years. With a population of three crore, today every individual in Punjab has a debt of Rs 1 lakh," he said.

"It is very surprising that 20 per cent of the annual budget of Punjab is being spent only to pay the interest of loans. If the state government did not have so much debt, then this money would have been used for good hospitals, schools, roads, overbridges and other facilities for the people. But the public's tax money is being spent on repaying the debt of Rs 3 lakh crore," Chadha alleged.

Accusing the Akali and Congress leaders of indulging in corruption, he said, "Every year Punjab's treasury is getting empty, but the assets of these corrupt leaders are increasing rapidly."

"Once upon a time, Punjab used to be the 'breadbasket' state of India. The biggest sports industry in the entire country was in Punjab. But loot and corruption of the previous SAD-BJP and the present Congress government have ruined Punjab," the AAP leader claimed.