Punjab got a meagre Rs 71 cr from Centre to fight COVID-19: Badal

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Thursday asserted that except a meagre sum of Rs 71 crore, the BJP-led government has not given the state a single penny to fight COVID-19 pandemic. Badal made the assertion, seeking to debunk sought Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal's claims of funds given by the Centre to Punjab. Badal, an estranged cousin of Shiromani Akali Dal Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, asked Harsimrat Kaur not to “play petty politics” over the COVID-19 crisis and dared her to get Punjab''s GST arrears worth Rs 4,400 crore released from the Centre. Badal attacked Kaur after she earlier claimed that the government of India had given funds and foodgrain to the Punjab government to combat COVID-19 and asked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh why no relief was being given to the needy people. 

“A sum of Rs 71 crore has been given to Punjab under the National Health Mission to fight coronavirus. It comes even less than Rs three crore per district. Besides that, we have not got a single penny from the government of India in the fight against COVID-19,” Badal said in a video message posted on his Facebook. “If they are trying to show doing favour with a sum of Rs 71 crore, it is s petty politics and narrow mindset,” said Badal, targeting the Union minister who is the wife of SAD chief Sukhbir Badal. He said a sum of Rs 832 crore given by the Centre, as had been claimed by Harsimrat Kaur, was Punjab''s right. Badal said this sum was Punjab''s share in devolution of central taxes. Taking on Harsimrat for her claims of giving Rs 2,300 crore to Punjab, Manpreet Badal said it was the state''s arrears pending for the last three years.

 Taking a swipe at Harsimrat, the state finance minister told the Union Food Processing Minister Kaur, “If anybody listens to you in the central Cabinet, then you should get Rs 4,400 crore GST compensation arrears released." Punjab has been demanding the release of the Goods and Services Tax arrears amounting to Rs 4,400 crore from the Centre. A few days ago, Union Minister Harsimrat Badal in her tweet had said, “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”.