The Shiromani Akali Dal Friday dubbed the 2019-20 budget a "bundle of lies" and alleged that the Congress-led Punjab government had "exaggerated income and suppressed expenditure".
Akali Dal legislator Parminder Singh Dhindsa said the state government had become "totally dependent" on the Centre for meeting its expenditure.
Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal had presented the state budget on February 18.
Participating in the discussion on the budget in the ongoing Punjab Assembly session, Dhindsa claimed the state's fiscal position had been "deteriorating" ever since the Congress government came to power.
"They (Congress) have been making big claims on fiscal consolidation but on the contrary, the economic situation of Punjab is dismal," the former finance minister said.
He claimed Punjab's fiscal health was deteriorating.
"Economic growth, which was 7.16 per cent in 2017-18, dropped to 6.27 in 2018-19 and in 2019-20 it is estimated to be 5.93 per cent. We know the target of 5.93 per cent is also unachievable," Dhindsa said.
"In the budget, the government has exaggerated income and suppressed expenditure," the SAD legislator alleged.
Dhindsa also accused the government of not making efforts to stabilise or shore up revenue.
Hitting out at the Congress for blaming the erstwhile SAD-BJP dispensation for the state's growing debt, he claimed that the incumbent government had already raised Rs 30,000 crore of debt in the last two years and it would raise another Rs 28,000 crore during the next fiscal year.
"After raising so much debt, they now talk about fiscal consolidation," he said, adding that the previous government had raised a debt of about Rs 89,000 crore during its 10-year regime.
Dhindsa claimed that the state's tax revenue was not rising.
He also claimed that the total gap between the state's income and expenditure was about Rs 15,000 crore.
"It comprises an unfunded gap of Rs 4,323 crore, Rs 1,500 crore of excess revenue, Rs 1,150 crore of reduced salary, wage bill, Rs 4,500 crore of pending power subsidy and Rs 4,000 crore of pending treasury bills," the former finance minister said.
Dhindsa also lashed out at the Congress government for raising Rs 6,600 crore of loan by pledging the future income of Punjab Infrastructure Development Board and Rural Development Fund.
"When we used to raise money this way, they criticised us. Now they are following the same practice," he said, adding that the Congress had been "exposed".
"Allocation of funds does not matter when the government has no money to spend," Dhindsa said.
He claimed that though the government had introduced no new taxes in the budget, it would do so after the Lok Sabha elections.
"The government claimed in the budget that it will not impose any new taxes. It will now impose taxes after the (Lok Sabha) elections are over," he said.
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