Time For A Reality Check For AAP In Punjab

Midway after it was elected to power in a landslide victory it is time for a reality check for the Bhagwant Mann led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab. This reality check also puts a big question mark on the ‘freebies model of governance’ that the AAP’s opponents accuse it of practising.

While it results in pinching the pockets of the common man, the government is doing a tight rope walk wanting to please as many segments as it can. With political turmoil continuing in the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) that keeps its leadership busy, the AAP is facing strong attack from the Congress leadership even as it tries to wriggle out of the burrow that it finds itself in at the moment.

On Thursday, the AAP government dealt a body blow to the consumers in the state when in a bid to ‘enhance the government revenue’ the Cabinet gave nod to hike value added tax (VAT) rate on diesel and petrol.

A government spokesperson said, “As a result, the VAT rate of diesel will increase by 92 paise per litre and that of Petrol will increase by 0.61 rupee per litre. The state government also abolished the subsidy being given to power consumers having loads of more than 7 kilo watt (KW). This will enhance the state revenue by around Rs 2400 to Rs 3000 crore.”

The power subsidy was one of the major poll planks of the AAP ahead of the state assembly polls in 2022.

The first reaction to this hike came from the Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) that expressed deep concern over the recent increase in the VAT. It has urged the state government to reconsider the hike and rollback the increase to bring the VAT structure in parity with neighbouring states.

A spokesperson of the Association said, “The recent VAT increase will have far-reaching and devastating consequences for the already struggling petroleum industry in the state.

“We the petroleum dealers are already facing a significant decline in sales due to neighbouring state and union territory (Chandigarh) offering lower VAT rates. This increase will only exacerbate the situation, leading to a substantial loss of revenue for both petroleum dealers and the state government.

“We request the state government to take immediate action to address our concerns and bring the VAT rates in line with neighbouring states. This will help to arrest the decline in sales, prevent further loss of revenue, and protect the interests of petroleum dealers and the state government.”

The most scathing attack on the decision has come from the leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa who accused the AAP government of burning holes in the pockets of the common people with the motive to raise revenue.

"In one of its most shameless moves ever, the AAP government has increased the prices of retail fuel and also withdrawn the scheme of giving subsidised power to domestic consumers, having up to 7 KW load. Enhancement in the price of the diesel will not cost dearly to the farmers but also add fuel to the inflation," the senior Congress leader said.

He picked holes in the AAP promises of raising revenue from other sources including Rs 20,000 crore from mining and Rs 34,000 crore by ending corruption. He hit out saying that exactly two weeks back, the government hiked the motor vehicle tax by 0.5% to 1 %, which made cars and two-wheelers unaffordable for the middle class and the weaker section of society.

"Ever since the AAP assumed power in the state, it has been running its routine activities with the borrowed funds. The outstanding debt in Punjab is estimated to touch Rs 3.74 lakh crore by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.

“The way the AAP government is handling the economy demonstrates that Punjab has been swiftly moving towards bankruptcy under the 2.5 years of the AAP regime", Bajwa added while accusing the government of ‘squandering Rs 750 crore from taxpayers' money annually on its fake publicity’.

Bajwa asserted that the government spends crores of rupees on air travel and if it really cared so much about the deteriorated fiscal health of the state, it would refrain from such reckless spending.

Meanwhile, Bhagwant Mann has tried to balance things by reaching out to the protesting farmers in the state. On Thursday following a meeting with a delegation of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) and Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union he announced that the government is committed to protect the interests of the peasantry.

Mann said the draft of the much awaited Punjab Agriculture Policy is ready but will be finalised only after due deliberations with the food growers. He announced the sharing of the draft with the farmers by September 30. He added that the farmers’ suggestions will be sought on the policy and will be duly incorporated, as ‘the state government does not want to impose anything on the food growers rather it is committed to consult them for making agriculture a profitable venture”.

He further stated that his government is mulling to introduce a one time settlement (OTS) scheme to offer much-needed relief to debt-ridden farmers who have been struggling to repay loans to the various cooperative banks. Mann announced that every effort will be made to bail out the farmers of the state from the ongoing agrarian crisis.

He said the government is solidly with the food growers of the state who through hard work and resilience have made the country self-reliant in food production.

On the issue of withdrawing the cases registered against the leaders of farmer unions, the Chief Minister asked the officers to explore the feasibility of this to secure the interests of farmers and ensured that a way out will be found in this regard. He further assured the farmers that the state government will re-examine the rejected cases pertaining to compensation in suicides committed by farmers and labourers.

Mann also asked the officers concerned to reconcile the cases of five marla plots to be given to the needy persons, besides directing them to make the five marla plots free from encroachment within three to six months across the state.

He further assured the delegation of farmers and farm labourers to sympathetically look into issues like compensation in death of dairy livestock, depleting groundwater table, water pollution along with the others.

Referring to the need for a new Agriculture Policy, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that “with the traditional agriculture in the state reaching a plateau, it is imperative to formulate a ‘robust agriculture policy’ to give boost to food production.

“It is also necessary for saving the groundwater for the coming generations and making agriculture a profitable venture. It was decided that the new policy will be formulated by taking into confidence all the major stakeholders”.

It needs to be underlined here that Punjab is scheduled to hold Panchayat elections soon. Mann has announced that the Panchayat elections in the state will be contested without party symbols.

He claimed that this will remove groupism in the villages and ensure holistic development of the rural areas. He further claimed that his government has taken ‘a path breaking decision’ to debar the candidates from contesting elections on party symbols in larger public interests.

Mann announced that any village that will elect the Panchayats unanimously will get a grant of Rs 5 lakh along with a stadium, school or hospital whatever is needed. He said that the state government wants to strengthen the Panchayti Raj system for which intelligent and honest people must be elected.

He envisioned that these efforts of the state government will produce desired results and people will be benefited from it.

Ironically, the concept of unanimous elections at the village level reminds one of the ‘Samrasta’ concept introduced in Gujarat by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government there more than a decade ago calling for unanimous elections in lieu of special grants. The critics of this concept have been contesting that such a lure of special grants is not healthy for democracy at the grassroots.

The AAP leadership has drawn flak on this issue from the state Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring who pointed out that these elections have traditionally never been held with party symbols. He suggested that the AAP in a move reflecting their insecurity has passed a bill to avoid any possibility of elections with party symbols.

"The AAP might be scared that if elections happen with party symbols by any chance, they could be rejected by Punjab like they have been during the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Warring also took a strong stance against the AAP government accusing it of misleading the public. "Bhagwant Mann and the AAP government continue to lie and deceive the people. While they boast about plans regarding new stadiums and hospitals, the existing ones continue to deteriorate. Our current stadiums are in such a state of disrepair that animals are grazing in them. This is the problem with the system," he said.

He highlighted the poor condition of wellness centres that have now been converted into Aam Aadmi Centres or Mohalla Clinics claiming that this has led to the cessation of central funding.

"There are a number of stadiums in Gidderbaha that are no longer being managed. Can they tell me about any newly built stadium or any existing one that has been properly managed?

“None have been made during the almost three-year tenure of the AAP, and if any have been, it was under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme initiated by the Congress party.

“Furthermore, when will doctors be hired for the 850 Mohalla Clinics which have been set up? Our entire state is experiencing severe shortage of government doctors with nearly 1,000 sanctioned posts remaining vacant. Therefore, it is essential that the current medical set-up have enough doctors before any new hospitals are set up," he added.

Meanwhile, in another move aimed at public outreach, Punjab’s minister for social justice, empowerment and minorities Dr. Baljit Kaur, has instructed all the state government departments to prioritise filling of backlog posts related to Scheduled Castes (SCs).

Pointing out that several posts reserved for the SCs across various Government departments remain vacant, she claimed that a notification has been issued urging all the departments to expedite the process and ensure the backlog is filled without delay.

On the other hand Mann touched upon another emotive issue in the state regarding promotion of Punjabi language. He has announced filling all the vacant posts of Punjabi teachers in the government schools across the state on priority basis.

In an address to mark the Teachers’ Day on Thursday, Mann said that the state government is duty bound to promote the mother tongue of every Punjabi and no stone will be left unturned for it.

He said that in consonance with the commitment of the state government to make Punjab a frontrunner state in education, the state government has already taken path breaking initiatives to give a boost to the education sector.

He promised recruitments to a large number of posts including campus managers, sanitary workers, watchmen and others in the coming days.

Facing criticism for failing to deliver justice on the other emotive issue of the incidents of sacrilege of holy texts, Mann has come out reiterating that his government is firmly committed to ensure exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the sacrilege incidents.

Promising to file fresh report in the matter soon, he told the state assembly that the government has got major clues and the said report has already been sent for legal vetting so that ‘no one escapes gallows for their involvement in this crime’

Slamming the previous governments for adopting a soft approach towards this highly emotive issue, the Chief Minister said that due to this laxity the criminals who have bruised the psyche of Sikhs by committing such unpardonable crime are still roaming free.

The Mann government continues to be on the back foot on the deteriorating law and order situation. Warring has expressed concern over the ‘crumbling administration’ citing the increasing number of premature retirements by the Police officers due to pressure from the government.

"Our law and order situation in Punjab is deteriorating daily. The problem is not just with the Director General of Police (DGP) as the AAP wishes to portray; the entire administration is failing. Police officers are not being allowed to work properly; many want to retire early due to the unbearable pressure. The Chief Minister needs to step up instead of spreading the blame to others," Warring emphasised.

In a recent media interaction Warring referred to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by him, and criticised the AAP government for spending a staggering Rs 5 crore rupees on a rally in Maur while neglecting essential infrastructure like sewerage systems in many cities.

"No work is being done for the sewerage system in numerous cities throughout the state. The government has no machinery or funds for procurement or rent of these machines. Severe water logging due to rains has affected many regions. I urge the entire state to file PILs, as I have done in Gidderbaha and Muktsar, to expose the reality of this government. Stop talking about stadiums and provide basic amenities to the people of Punjab instead," he concluded.

The law and order issue has also been raised by Bajwa after the conclusion of the assembly session on Thursday. He said that Punjab seems to have turned into a ‘gangland’ with crimes happening almost every day.

“The growing drug menace has been one of the prime threats that the youth of Punjab have been facing. CM Mann set several deadlines to make Punjab a drug-free state in vain. This issue was not discussed in the assembly session,” he stated.

The Opposition leader said that “Punjab has been drifting toward bankruptcy”. He claimed that the AAP government has no funds to pay the salaries of the government employees. “The outstanding debt in Punjab is estimated to touch Rs 3.74 lakh crore by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year. Yet, there was no discussion on the deteriorating economic condition of Punjab.

“Similarly, issues like unemployment, brain drain, farmers' demands of new Agriculture Policy were not discussed in the session," Bajwa added.

Another important issue has been flagged by Congress MLA and former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh. “Social media accounts that speak for farmers & Sikhs are being shut down, but no action is being taken against those spreading hate. I personally complained to the ADGP, and @SGPCAmritsar has raised complaints too, yet the @BhagwantMann govt is favouring those spreading hate,” he posted on X.

In another tweet he said, “In August 2023, Speaker @Sandhwan Ji urged @DGPPunjabPolice to take action against the hate being spread against Sikhs. However, no action was taken on this hateful agenda. Today, when the issue was raised in the assembly, the Speaker refused to allocate time for discussion.”

He further went on to say, “If we can't address the agenda against Sikhs in Punjab assembly, where else can we?”