On Women’s Day, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa slams AAP govt in Punjab over allowance for women, says its owes s 36,000 cr

Chandigarh: On the occasion of International Women's Day, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa lashed out at Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of deceiving the women of the state with the "hollow" promise of Rs 1,000 monthly stipend.
"The AAP govt's much-hyped programme to provide a stipend of Rs 1,000 per month to women over the age of 18 is long overdue. The women of Punjab will never forgive the AAP for befooling them with a false promise to garner their votes during the assembly election in 2022. However, I commit that in the upcoming budget session, I will raise their voices in the assembly to make the deaf ears of the AAP hear," Bajwa said.
He said the AAP govt should be prepared to provide three years of arrears to the women as the original promise was to launch the same right after forming the govt. The estimated population of women over 18 years of age in Punjab is one crore. Therefore, the AAP govt owes Rs 36,000 crore to them, he said.
"When people and media raised questions about delays in implementation of the scheme, CM in May 2024 announced that the amount would be hiked to Rs 1,100 per month. Still, the promise seems far from being fulfilled. The AAP has no intentions to launch this scheme, which is why it's making new excuses," Bajwa said.