Chandigarh, March 5 The budget session of the Punjab Assembly, scheduled to begin on March 6, is likely to see heated debates as opposition parties – the Congress, BJP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal – will try to put pressure on the Bhagwant Mann government over key issues, including "deteriorating" law and order and "rising" state debt.
Meanwhile, the AAP government is likely to fulfill its promise of providing Rs 1,000 to every woman when Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presents the state budget on March 8.
The session will begin with the Governor's address and obituary references on March 6, according to the tentative schedule.
The state budget will be presented on March 8, coinciding with International Women's Day. Unlike the previous practice of presenting the budget on a working day, this time it will be tabled on Sunday.
The AAP government has already indicated that it will fulfill its promise of providing a monthly aid of Rs 1,000 to every woman.
Last month, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said that the promise would be fulfilled in the budget.
This will be the last budget to be presented by the AAP government in Punjab before the state goes to polls in early 2027.
According to the tentative schedule of the session, a discussion on the Governor's address will be held on March 9, and a discussion on the budget estimates will take place on March 10-11.
There will be non-official business on March 12, while legislative business will be conducted on March 16 after which the House will be adjourned sine die, according to the schedule.
During the session, opposition parties will try to challenge the ruling benches on various issues, including the alleged collapse of law and order in the state, "unfulfilled" poll promises, and "ballooning" debt.
Congress MLA Sukhwinder Singh Kotli criticized the Mann government, accusing it of failing to "deliver" on all fronts.
Since the government has promised to provide Rs 1,000 to women, it should also clear the outstanding payment of Rs 48,000 to every woman, which has accumulated over the past four years, as the AAP had promised to provide financial assistance after assuming office in 2022, Kotli said.
The Congress MLA also demanded that the state government should release a white paper on the funds allocated to the healthcare sector, given that it is boasting about launching a "sehat kranti" (health revolution).
The AAP had promised to build 16 new medical colleges in the state, but none have been built yet, he said.
It had also promised to make Punjab a debt-free state, but due to its excessive borrowing, the AAP government will leave Punjab with a massive debt of over Rs 5 lakh crore, Kotli claimed.
A few days ago, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring had alleged that while the state does not have enough money even to pay the interest on pending loans, the government has been announcing new schemes, clearly aimed at garnering support ahead of the 2027 assembly polls, without any means to finance them.
