Senior leaders of AAP, including Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP Punjab President Aman Arora, and AAP Punjab Chief Spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, strongly condemned Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha today over his failure to raise Punjab’s key issues in Parliament. The AAP leaders collectively asserted that Punjab’s issues must be forcefully raised at every platform, and any failure to do so amounts to a betrayal of the mandate given by the people and AAP.
Cheema, raising concerns over parliamentary representation, stated that Chadha was elected to the Rajya Sabha by Punjab’s MLAs with the expectation that he would strongly represent the state’s concerns at the national level, but in vain. Listing key financial issues, Cheema said, “He failed to raise several critical matters, including the pending Rural Development Fund (RDF) amount of nearly Rs 8,500 crore, massive GST-related losses to Punjab amounting to around Rs 60,000 crore since its implementation, and additional financial setbacks of Rs 5,000-6,000 crore due to changes in GST compensation. Funds under National Health Mission were also not adequately addressed.”
Aman Arora, Punjab president, expressed disappointment, saying that remaining silent on such crucial issues is a betrayal of Punjab and its people. Reiterating party principles, he emphasised that Chadha should introspect and remember the party’s core mission of standing up against injustice and advocating for people’s rights.
Dhaliwal stated that there was deep disappointment over Chadha’s silence on the plight of flood-affected people in Punjab. “Party leaders repeatedly urged him to raise the issue of compensation in Parliament, especially the relief package of Rs 1,600 crore announced by the Prime Minister, which has still not been delivered, but to our huge disappointment, he didn’t.
Standing in a flood-affected village, he added, “It is clear that people suffered massive losses to homes, crops, and infrastructure, yet their voice was never raised at the national level. We expected him to strongly demand justice and relief for Punjab’s flood victims, but his silence has been a huge disappointment. The people of Punjab will not forget this neglect.”
