Punjab Finance Minister's repeated Revenue Growth Claims Exposed by His Own Department's Fresh ₹1,000 Crore Loan Notification: Dhillon

Chandigarh, July 12: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab State President Sardar Kewal Singh Dhillon on alleged that the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government has pushed Punjab into a deep financial crisis through continuous borrowing, saying the government's policies have transformed the dream of "Prosperous Punjab" into a "Kangal Punjab."

Dhillon said the Punjab Government's latest Finance Department notification dated July 10, 2026, to raise another ₹1,000 crore through the re-issue of 7.55% Punjab SGS 2033 exposes Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema's repeated claims of strong revenue growth. He said Cheema frequently highlights rising GST, VAT and excise collections in press conferences and official statements, but the government's repeated borrowing tells a different story. 

Dhillon said the borrowing pattern itself tells the real story. "The AAP government borrowed around ₹24,000 crore in 2022-23, nearly ₹28,000 crore in 2023-24, and ₹34,201 crore in 2024-25. During 2025-26, it had already borrowed over ₹20,770 crore by January, while planning total borrowings of ₹49,900 crore for the year. Now, yet another ₹1,000 crore loan has been added." 

He said Punjab's outstanding debt has increased from about ₹2.82 lakh crore in 2022 to around ₹4.17 lakh crore, with projections indicating it could touch ₹4.48 lakh crore by 2026-27. 

"If Punjab has repeated revenue growths in the last 4 years, why is the government repeatedly approaching the market for fresh loans?" Dhillon asked, adding that continuous borrowing is burdening future generations instead of strengthening the state's economy.

He demanded that the Chief Minister and Finance Minister place the true fiscal position before the people of Punjab and present a credible roadmap for reducing debt rather than relying on repeated borrowings.