Budget debate in Punjab Assembly: AAP-Congress clash in the house, Bajwa asks ‘if women will get Rs 48,000’

March 9, 2026

The third day of the budget session in Punjab is underway. During this session, Leader of the Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa attacked the government on the budget. He said that Kejriwal was asked why his government should be given a chance and where it would get the money from. Kejriwal responded that corruption and mismanagement are rampant in Punjab. “I was an IRS officer, so I know where to get the budget and revenue,” he said.

He said that he had talked about saving 20% ​​and allocating 20,000 rupees from mining. Regarding mining from the three rivers, he had said that there was a potential of 20,000 crore rupees annually and that he would spend beyond that. There is no mention of this in the budget.

Watch the Punjab Budget Session proceedings here

What about 48,000 for women?

Bajwa said, “We welcome giving 1,000 rupees to women, which is a good thing. But in five years, women deserve 60,000 rupees. But now we are giving only 9,000 rupees. The Chief Minister should clarify in his budget speech whether he has any hope of 48,000 rupees or should he just shake off his job.” It took three months just for registration.

They were unable to bring the perpetrators of sacrilege to justice.
Bajwa said that in four years, govt was unable to bring the perpetrators of sacrilege to justice. “I want this to be discussed. The sacrilege issue was discussed earlier, and six months have passed. They should be punished severely. The government has not discussed it yet.”

OPS Not implemented yet

Bajwa said that the AAP government had decided to introduce the Old Age Pension (OPS) three years ago, but it has not been implemented to date. Our government has done it in Himachal.” CM Mann stood up in the House and asked Bajwa to clarify whether he was speaking on the budget or the Governor’s address. An angry Bajwa retorted, “Then throw out the opposition.” During this, Bajwa and CM Bhagwant Mann came face to face.

  Congress and AAP MLAs face off
During a debate in the Assembly, Congress and AAP MLAs clashed, leading to an uproar in the House. Minister Aman Arora said, “I told the Leader of the Opposition to listen to us and leave. He told the Speaker to make them sit down; they have picked up books. Now they are running away.” Arora said, “The Speaker should tell them, if they have even a little shame, to sit down and listen.”