Fiscal Health Index Challenges AAP Claims Amid Political Dispute
Congress leader Amrinder Singh Raja Warring calls NITI Aayog report a “scathing indictment” of AAP’s economic mismanagement in Punjab.
Chandigarh: Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) following the release of the latest NITI Aayog fiscal health index, which ranked Punjab at the bottom among 18 major states.
“Punjab’s position at the lowest rank of the fiscal health index exposes the AAP’s hollow claims of progress and puts the state on the verge of virtual bankruptcy,” Warring said, terming the report a sharp indictment of the ruling party’s economic policies.
The Ludhiana MP reiterated his call for a ‘White Paper’ on Punjab’s fiscal condition, arguing that citizens deserve a full account of the government’s alleged mismanagement across economic, social, and law and order sectors.
Warring noted that the fiscal health index evaluated states across five key parameters: revenue mobilisation, expenditure quality, fiscal prudence, debt levels, and debt sustainability. Punjab scored just 12.4 out of 100, placing it last among the surveyed states.
Highlighting AAP’s previous claims, the PCC chief said the party had boasted of boosting state revenues, curbing corruption, and controlling illegal sand mining. “All those assertions now stand completely discredited,” he added, underscoring the gap between promises and reality.
According to Warring, repeated warnings by Congress about the government’s extravagant spending and fiscal mismanagement had gone unheeded, culminating in the state’s poor showing in the latest national assessment.
