'Kejriwal Lied': BJP Slams AAP Over Failure To Announce Cash Scheme For Women In Punjab Budget

Last Updated:March 26, 2025, 16:58 IST

Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had promised in its 2022 state assembly election manifesto to give Rs 1,100 per month to women aged 18 and above

**EDS: THIRD PARTY IMAGE** In this image posted by @BhagwantMann via X on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema meets Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann before presenting the Budget for the financial year 2025-26. (@BhagwantMann via PTI Photo) (PTI03_26_2025_000062B)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday slammed the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for failing to announce the promised financial assistance to women in the state’s budget for the 2025-26 financial year.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had promised in its 2022 state assembly election manifesto to give Rs 1,100 per month to women aged 18 and above.

Earlier today, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a budget with a total expenditure of Rs 2,36,080 crore, including key allocations such as Rs 5,598 crore for the health sector and a focus on tackling the state’s growing drug problem.

However, the budget did not mention the monthly financial assistance to women, which was one of AAP’s flagship promises before coming to power.

In response, Union Minister and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu criticised the AAP government in Punjab for failing to fulfil its promise.

“Empty vessels make the most noise," Bittu wrote in his post on X. “AAP government has utterly failed to deliver on its flagship promise of Rs 1,000 per month for women in Punjab."

The Union Minister also accused Bhagwant Mann’s government of increasing Punjab’s debt by around Rs 1 lakh crore. “It has added around Rs 1 lakh crore to the state’s debt—a sum nearly equal to the Rs 3 lakh crore accumulated over the previous 30 years," he stated.

Bittu also raised concerns over rising crime and drug trafficking in the state, claiming that the budget offered no practical solutions to improve law and order.

“The 2025 budget shockingly allocates no funds for Malwa Canal project project. The AAP’s pledge to create millions of jobs remains unfulfilled, and unemployment continues to rise as a persistent problem in the state. They have made mockery of the people of Punjab in this budget," he added.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also joined in the criticism, accusing AAP of misleading the people of Punjab and expressed his disappointment over the absence of financial aid for women in the state budget.

“The Women of Punjab have still not got 1100 Rs in their bank account! No mention in Budget of Punjab tabled today! (26th March, 2025). Arvind Kejriwal has lied to the people of Punjab," Bhandari wrote on X.

Punjab, India, India

News politics 'Kejriwal Lied': BJP Slams AAP Over Failure To Announce Cash Scheme For Women In Punjab Budget