Chandigarh, Mar 11 (PTI) The opposition on Saturday targeted the AAP government in the Assembly over Punjab's debt issue and also accused it of not fulfilling the poll guarantee of Rs 1,000 per month for women while suggesting measures to boost the state's economy.

During a discussion on budget estimates, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said that given the borrowings being made by the AAP regime, the state will end up adding Rs 2 lakh crore more to its debt by end of the term of this government.

Also Read | Gujarat: ‘Sexually Perverted Content’ Sold as Entertainment Causing Rise in Rape Cases, Says Resolution at Meet of NGOs.

He also hit out at the state government for proposing just Rs 8,513 crore as capital expenditure which is barely five per cent of the state budget while the rest of the budget will be spent on committed liabilities.

Stating that Punjab is a land-locked state, Khaira suggested opening trade with Central Asia through Pakistan, claiming that it would boost the state's economy.

Also Read | Delhi Shocker: 22-Year-Old Specially-Abled Woman Raped in Maujpur, Accused Nabbed From Lucknow.

Alleging that not enough funds have been allocated for crop diversification, the Congress MLA further suggested that the state government should take up the matter with the Centre for utilisation of cash credit limit for crops other than paddy to boost crop diversification.

Participating in the discussion, Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali lambasted the AAP government for not fulfilling its promise of Rs 1,000 per month for women.

By not honouring its guarantee of Rs 1,000 for women each month, the AAP government has "played a fraud" with them, Ayali said.

He further said the state budget did not mention anything about the old pension scheme and arrears of the sixth pay commission for government employees. The SAD leader also accused the state government of not allocating sufficient funds for Punjabi University, Patiala.

"The budget has disappointed people of the state," Ayali said.

BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma too slammed the government over the outstanding debt of the state, asking whether the AAP had considered the fiscal health of the state before announcing "guarantees" for the people of Punjab before the 2022 Assembly polls.

According to the budget at a glance, the state's effective outstanding debt is expected to be Rs 3,27,050 crore for 2023-24 as against Rs 2,92,266.83 crore (revised estimates) for 2022-23.

The Punjab BJP chief also questioned the government about its promise of giving Rs 1,000 to women and reminded the treasury benches that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had made several guarantees.

"Women of the state felt dejected after not finding mention of Rs 1,000 in the over two-hour-long speech of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during the budget presentation on Friday, Sharma said.

He also asked the treasury benches about its promise of opening 16,000 mohalla clinics in the state and wondered whether it will be able to set up as many clinics.

Sharma suggested the Bhagwant Mann government utilize the central schemes for the welfare of the people of the state.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also took on the government over the state's debt and fund allocation to the Punjabi University, Patiala.

He suggested the government raise the chief minister relief fund for a cancer patient from Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.

Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh raised the issue of "brain drain", saying two lakh youth were going abroad every year for study purposes.

A "capital drain" of Rs 36,000 crore per annum was taking place on account of youth going abroad, the Kapurthala MLA said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)