Punjab AAP leaders slam Raghav Chadha over failure to raise state's issues

Chandigarh, April 4 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, State AAP President Aman Arora and legislator Kuldeep Dhaliwal on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha over the failure to raise state's key issues in the Parliament.

They highlighted that critical matters, including Rs 8,500 crore Rural Development Fund dues, Rs 60,000 crore GST losses, and Rs 1,600 crore flood relief, were not taken up, despite repeated communication.

Calling the silence a betrayal of Punjab's people and mandate, the AAP leaders said in a statement that the failure to raise farmers' concerns and flood victims' plight reflected a complete disconnect from ground realities.

Raising concerns over parliamentary representation, Minister Cheema said, "Raghav Chadha was elected to the Rajya Sabha by Punjab's MLAs with the expectation that he would strongly represent the state's concerns at the national level. However, he completely avoided raising even a single sensitive issue related to Punjab."

Listing out key financial issues, the Finance Minister noted, "He (Raghav Chadha) failed to raise several critical matters, including the pending Rural Development Fund (RDF) amount of nearly Rs 8,500 crore, massive GST-related losses to Punjab amounting to around Rs 60,000 crore since its implementation, and additional financial setbacks of Rs 5,000-6,000 crore due to changes in GST compensation. Funds under the National Health Mission were also not adequately addressed."

Referring to flood relief, Minister Cheema added, "Despite the Prime Minister Modi's announcement of Rs 1,600 crore in relief for Punjab after the devastating floods, not even a fraction of that amount has reached Punjab's treasury. All these issues were repeatedly conveyed to Raghav Chadha, yet he did not raise even one of them in Parliament."

Expressing disappointment, the Minister said, "We (AAP) sent him (Raghav Chadha) to the Rajya Sabha with hope, but he did not speak even once before the Prime Minister on these issues. This clearly shows a compromise. Aam Aadmi Party is a party that gives opportunities to common people, but remaining silent on such crucial issues is a betrayal of Punjab and its people."

Punjab AAP President Arora said that Chadha must remember the role played by Arvind Kejriwal and the party in elevating him politically.

"Instead of focusing on Punjab's pressing issues such as pending RDF funds and flood relief, he (Raghav Chadha) chose to raise unrelated matters, which has been noticed by the entire country."

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