Chandigarh, March 24, 2025 – Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema praised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s achievements while slamming previous Congress and Akali-BJP administrations for mismanagement and failures. Speaking in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, he thanked Governor Gulab Chand Kataria for his speech and outlined the Mann government’s successes.
Cheema highlighted that AAP fulfilled its 2022 election promise of free electricity within three months, benefiting 90% of domestic consumers. He also touted the Goindwal Sahib thermal plant acquisition as a historic move, securing a ₹6,000 crore asset for just ₹1,080 crore.
Taking a swipe at Congress, Cheema accused the party of walking out of the assembly to avoid confronting its ₹9,000 crore subsidy arrears left for AAP to clear. He contrasted AAP’s free healthcare initiatives with Congress’s failure to recruit doctors, noting that Aam Aadmi Clinics now provide free treatment, tests, and medicines.
In education, Cheema celebrated a 57% budget increase, the School of Eminence program, and international teacher training. He condemned Congress’s plan to shut 1,207 schools, a move AAP reversed. He also blamed opposition leaders’ private-school backgrounds for their ignorance of government school conditions.
Cheema credited ₹90,000 crore in new investments to Punjab’s improved law and order. He praised the Anti-Gangster Task Force for dismantling criminal networks, blaming Congress for fostering gang culture and sheltering gangsters in Punjab jails.
On drug eradication, he detailed the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, which led to 2,200 FIRs, 3,800 arrests, and 43 property demolitions. He accused the Akali-BJP of introducing “Chitta” (synthetic drugs) and Congress’s Captain Amarinder Singh of failing to honor his promise to end drug trade.
The minister highlighted 50,000 youth employment opportunities, sports promotion, and plans for 1,000 sports nurseries. He emphasized groundwater conservation efforts, increased canal water supply, and electricity subsidies for farmers.
Cheema criticized the ₹3 lakh crore debt left by previous governments, noting that ₹20,000 crore annually goes toward interest payments. He also pointed to AAP’s efforts to clear employee dues, regularize teachers, and raise non-permanent teacher salaries from ₹6,000 to ₹25,000.
In his closing remarks, Cheema said AAP, despite being just 8 years old in Punjab politics, has made unprecedented strides under CM Bhagwant Mann’s leadership. He vowed to continue Punjab’s transformation, leaving behind the Congress-Akali era of debt and misgovernance.
