DW BUREAU / Kapurthala

A day after announcement of the union budget by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh today said that budget for the financial year 2025-26 has completely ignored Punjab which is a cause of disappointment for the people of the state.

In my opinion the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has also failed to pursue its case to convince the Government of India that Punjab is a border state and it should be given special benefits and treated as a special case, said the law maker.

"Punjab shares borders of 553 kilometers touching Pakistan, which involves huge risk in fighting attempts to push drugs into the state", said the legislator adding that there is always a risk of insurgency and also portion of agricultural land is across the border fence which multiplies the risk and loss.

"No doubt the Punjab government has tried to push for an industrial package before the Finance Ministry in the Government of India, as necessary for economic and infrastructure development and employment generation, the special package is needed to bail it out of the hardships it is facing", said the Congress Party MLA.

The legislator demanded that Punjab be treated on a par with north-eastern states enjoying special category status. "Out of the said outlay Punjab should get 10% to save it from socio-economic doom, which could hopefully curb exodus of youth from the state", he added.

The debts on the state are piling and have touched rupees 3 lakh crore and agriculture sector is also in acute distress, facing a debt of rupees one lakh crore, out of which rupees 80,000 crore is institutional loan. "Punjab needs a bailout package," stressed the MLA.

The state needs special package for rejuvenating its agriculture and infrastructure development so as to strengthen human development index, which, in case of the state is continuously sliding downwards. Human development index measures standard of living, health and education.

Referring to a special package for some states, Rana Gurjeet Singh said that the indifference towards other states particularly Punjab would lead to trust deficit, so in the budget all states should have been treated equally.

(editor@dailyworld.in)