“The state has received absolutely no money from the central government in its fight against COVID-19,” Amarinder said terming the Union minister’s remarks as another manifestation of her compulsive habit of lying.
A war of word ensued Saturday between Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh with the Union minister claiming that Centre had given funds and foodgrains to Punjab to combat COVID-19 and the Chief Minister saying that she was “trying brazenly” to mislead the people and that Punjab has received no such support.
Harsimrat took to Twitter to share details of the funds sent by the Centre to the Punjab government and asked Amarinder why no relief was being given to the needy.
“Punjab received funds & grains to deal with #COVID_19 crisis. I am sending you details @capt_amarinder. People want to know where are the things that came from Centre? Why no relief being given to them? Better you first distribute relief sent to u before making out a case for more.
“As far as funds received by Punjab after March 20 when #Coronavirus broke out, please note the state received Rs 3,445 cr including Rs 2,366 cr on account of GST compensation & arrears, Rs 638 cr as RDG, Rs 247 cr for Disaster Mgt, Rs 72 cr for MNREGA & Rs 72 cr under NHM,” she tweeted.
The Bathinda MP further said that the Centre had also sent wheat and pulses to the state government. “This isn’t all CM Sahib. Centre has also sent 15 kg wheat & 3 kg pulses for 1.4 cr people which is half of state’s population. It’s still lying in Pb godowns & not reached a single household. Shouldn’t you prioritise work & ensure this relief reaches the needy at the earliest,” she said in another tweet.
Amarinder , however, said that Harsimrat’s “information is absolutely incorrect”.
“The state has received absolutely no money from the central government in its fight against COVID-19,” Amarinder said terming the Union minister’s remarks as another manifestation of her compulsive habit of lying and being ill-informed about even the basic facts relating to her own state.
“You should be ashamed of spreading such false propaganda on such a major issue. What are you doing sitting there if you can’t fight for Punjab and its people,” he said.
Amarinder pointed out that the Rs 2,366 crore referred to by her on the GST count was Punjab’s money, in lieu of the GST owed to the state against arrears. “And even there, Rs 4400 crore of the state’s money was still pending with the governmentx. You couldn’t even get our own pending arrears released, leave alone get us the much-needed relief package,” he quipped.
Even the other amounts mentioned by Harsimrat were normal dues of the state, against various routine heads, “which have nothing to do with the COVID battle,” said the CM, expressing shock at the Akali leader’s “attempts to lie her way out to cover up for her own failure to get any support for Punjab” in this difficult hour.
As opposed to the 10,000 tonnes claimed by Harsimrat, the state had received only 42 tonnes of pulses so far, “which is a joke” considering the state’s requirement, Amarinder said.
He said that he had suggested that the Centre should arrange for six months of ration for the poor in all the states. In fact, the Centre turned a blind eye to his suggestion to expeditiously lift the surplus grains lying in Punjab to free the storage space for the Rabi crop, Amarinder said. “But they prefer to let the grains rot, and get the state government to pay for the losses, instead of using it to feed the poor and needy people around the country,” he added
Leave alone a relief package for COVID, the Centre was yet to even clear the pending bonus for farmers and insurance for employees, he added.
Amarinder had been seeking the special package and release of the pending GST arrears. The special package includes Rs 729 crore for hospital upgradation and Rs 550 crore for setting up an institute for advanced virology. On April 14, Singh had told media that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given positive indications.