Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said that his government in his previous term had left a robust economy and accused the BJP-SAD regime of creating a financial crisis in the state with their 'ill-conceived' and 'anti-people' politics.
Singh termed SAD's demand for Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal's resignation over the fiscal situation in the state as 'ridiculous', considering that it was the Akalis who were "wholly and solely responsible" for the financial crisis which his government was striving hard to resolve.
"For 10 years, the Akalis messed with the state's economy for their own vested interests. Punjab government, in my previous term, had left a robust economy, which the SAD-BJP regime ruined with their ill-conceived and anti-people policies," the Chief Minister said in a statement.
"All the money in the state's coffers was wasted away by the Akalis and their allies, the BJP, during their decade-long misrule, with no positive measures taken to boost the economy," he added.
Singh asserted that the industry and businesses were forced to flee the state as a result of their negative policies, which completely crushed investor sentiment, leading to a huge debt burden that his government was still struggling to alleviate.
"Just months before the 2017 Assembly elections, the then SAD-BJP government added a Rs 31,000 crore loan burden on the state on account of food grain procurement for the central pool, which had aggravated the fiscal crisis of Punjab," he said.
The Chief Minister further said that the critical economic situation of the state was a legacy that his government had inherited from the Akalis, who were now "shedding crocodile tears" over a crisis of their own making.
"It was shameful that instead of regretting their actions and apologising to the people for the same, the Akali leaders were now seeking to put the blame of the financial mess on his government and finance minister. Our entire government, particularly the Finance Ministry, was doing everything in its power to revive the economic situation by restoring investor and industry confidence," he added.
"Unfortunately, the central government's failure to manage the GST revenue and payout the state's share of it in time was obstructing my government's efforts to restore the economy in Punjab. It was notable, however, that the SAD was a part of the NDA government at the Centre too, and yet they had the audacity to try and pin the blame for the fiscal problems of the state on the incumbent government," Singh remarked.
( With inputs from ANI )