BJP accuses AAP govt. in Punjab of presenting Centre’s scheme as its own achievement

File photo of Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sunil Jakhar. | Photo Credit: ANI The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (September 26, 2026) accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of covering up its misgovernance and poor financial management by presenting a Union government scheme as its own achievement and wasting money on advertisements.Former State BJP president Sunil Jakhar said the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana is a 100% centrally funded scheme under which the Union government bears the entire cost but the Punjab government is trying to claim credit for a Central scheme.Development grants since 2021Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Jakhar said the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana scheme has operated in its present form since 2020-21 and provides development grants to villages where Scheduled Castes make up more than 40% of the population.He added that 3,763 villages in Punjab were identified under the scheme by the Union government and the Centre had already sent funds for 1,200 villages and was expected to release funds for the remaining villages soon.Hitting out at the AAP, Mr. Jakhar said that the State government had done nothing on its own for village development but was spending public money on advertisements to claim credit for a Union government scheme.On the issue of special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Mr. Jakhar said the protests by Congress and AAP were aimed at attracting newspaper headlines. “If the parties had complaints about deleted votes, why were they not filing objections with the Election Commission? [Around] 20,000 votes had been deleted in Abohar [constituency] area, but that neither Congress nor AAP had filed a single objection with the Commission there,” he said. Published - September 26, 2026 07:17 pm IST