How will govt fund stipend plan for women, asks LoP

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday sought to know from the state’s Aam Aadmi Party government how it was planning to fund its pre-poll promise of providing women aged 18 and above with a monthly stipend of Rs 1,100.

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The statement came as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had told mediapersons in New Delhi on February 10 that his government would start providing the stipend soon.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had announced to launch the scheme during the 2022 state Assembly poll, a promise that is yet to be fulfilled.

Bajwa said the promise had been long overdue.

“I strongly advocate that the AAP government should be prepared to provide three-year arrears to the women as the original promise was to launch the scheme right after forming the government,” he said in a statement.

He said the state had around 1 crore woman aged 18 and above and the government owed Rs 36,000 crore in “arrears” to them.

Asking the government how it would fund the plan, he said, “While the economy of Punjab has been on the verge of collapse under the three-year term of AAP, it must let the people of Punjab know from where it would bring the funds to fulfil this promise. The people of Punjab have every right to know about it.”

The leader said initially, the promise was to provide Rs 1,000 per month per woman but CM Mann raised the promised amount to Rs 1,100 in May last year.