The Punjab Vidhan Sabha’s special session on Friday began with solemn tributes to those who perished in the recent floods but soon turned into a fiery exchange as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed over claims surrounding ₹12,000 crore in disaster relief funds.
The House first observed silence for 59 people who lost their lives in the floods, besides remembering former legislators, cultural icons and security personnel. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann opened proceedings by assuring the House that his government was committed to rehabilitation and that compensation norms would be amended to ensure faster disbursal of aid. He said the ongoing assessment of damages would form the basis for relief packages to farmers and affected families.
The calm atmosphere did not last long. Mann, while detailing funds available with the state, said Punjab had received ₹5,012 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) since 2010, of which ₹3,820 crore had already been spent. He further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced an additional ₹1,600 crore support during his recent visit, which would help strengthen flood relief efforts.
The opposition benches challenged these figures sharply. BJP leaders accused the government of exaggerating the corpus, pointing to records that showed only ₹9,041 crore in SDRF till March 2023. They argued that the ₹12,000 crore number included future allocations that were yet to be released. Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa added weight to the attack by writing to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking official clarification on the actual funds available to Punjab.
What followed was a heated war of words. AAP accused the opposition of politicising a tragedy, while BJP and Congress charged the government with misrepresentation and financial opacity. The exchanges dominated the day’s proceedings, overshadowing legislative business that was scheduled to focus on flood relief measures.
The floods have devastated more than five lakh acres of crops and caused estimated losses of over ₹13,800 crore, leaving thousands of families dependent on government compensation. With rehabilitation work underway, the dispute over disaster relief funds has become the most contentious issue in the Assembly.
The special session, which will not meet over the weekend, will reconvene on September 29. Key legislative proposals, including changes to the compensation framework, are expected to be taken up, but the row over the ₹12,000 crore figure is likely to remain at the heart of the debate.