Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab President and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Thursday hit out at the Congress, saying its MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring’s statement had exposed the party’s anti-people and feudal mindset. He warned that if Congress came to power in Punjab in 2027, even by mistake, it would snatch away free electricity, the ₹10 lakh Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna and financial assistance for women, while bringing back toll plazas and imposing higher electricity and canal water charges.
Pointing out that Congress is wanting to deny ordinary Punjabis welfare benefits while its own MPs, MLAs and former ministers continued to enjoy subsidies, Aman Arora challenged the party’s top leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Pratap Singh Bajwa, to clarify whether these schemes would continue under a Congress government, asserting that the party’s election promises would prove hollow and Punjab could return to an era of public hardship and exploitation.
Addressing a press conference, AAP Punjab President and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said Amarinder Singh Raja Warring’s remarks about restricting electricity subsidies and financial assistance for women on the grounds of need raise serious questions about the Congress party’s agenda for Punjab. “The people of Punjab deserved a clear answer on whether Congress intended to continue these benefits or withdraw them if elected to power,” he asserted.
The AAP Punjab President pointed out, “The AAP government, under CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, is providing electricity subsidies to households, farmers and industry, with the policy aimed at meeting people’s needs.” He also referred to the monthly financial assistance provided to women and said Congress leaders had questioned the continuation of such benefits by suggesting that those who did not need them should be excluded.
He noted, “Amarinder Singh Raja Warring’s statement has made Congress’s intentions clear. If Congress comes to power in 2027, it will not stop at electricity subsidies and financial assistance for women. People must also ask what will happen to the ₹10 lakh Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna health cover, closed toll plazas, canal water reach and Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra.”
Questioning the criteria for deciding who deserved government assistance, Aman Arora asked who would determine which families were eligible for these benefits and on what basis. Would Raja Warring make these decisions, or would Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Pratap Singh Bajwa and others decide which households deserved electricity subsidies and which women should receive financial assistance, he asked.
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Challenging Congress leaders to lead by example, Aman Arora asked why Congress leaders, former ministers, Members of the Legislative Assembly and their families continued to benefit from government subsidies instead of voluntarily surrendering them if they genuinely believed that those who did not need assistance should be excluded.
He said, “While the AAP government has been providing free electricity for four years and financial assistance to women for around six months, I have not seen Congress leaders publicly relinquish these benefits.”
Aman Arora also reminded the people of Punjab of the Congress party’s record on electricity subsidies. Referring to the period when Captain Amarinder Singh led the Congress government, he said free electricity for farmers had been discontinued after the Congress came to power in 2002, only to be restored after the general election two-and-a-half years later. He said Congress had also promised before the 2017 Assembly elections to continue free electricity, and its past record raised doubts about its present assurances. “Congress may make all kinds of promises in its manifesto and election speeches, but the people of Punjab must judge the party by its actions and its record in government,” he said.
The AAP Punjab President called on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether the party would continue the electricity subsidies and financial assistance for women provided by the Punjab government or discontinue them after coming to power.
Aman Arora further warned that the implications of the Congress party’s approach could extend beyond electricity subsidies and financial assistance for women. “A Congress government will bring back toll plazas, impose charges for canal water supplied to agricultural fields, increase electricity costs and discontinue the ₹10 lakh health cover provided under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna.”
He said, “If Congress comes to power, Punjab would once again face a period in which ordinary people are burdened with higher costs while welfare benefits are withdrawn.”
Aman Arora urged Punjabis not to be misled by election-time promises and to take Amarinder Singh Raja Warring’s remarks seriously when assessing the Congress party’s intentions ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. “The people of Punjab must understand what is being signalled through these statements. The issue is not just electricity subsidies or financial assistance for women; it is whether the benefits reaching ordinary families today will continue or be taken away. Congress must answer these questions clearly before asking Punjab for votes in 2027,” Aman Arora said.
