Chandigarh, October 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Thursday criticised the Congress over remarks by its MP and former Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring regarding welfare benefits, alleging that a Congress government in 2027 could withdraw facilities currently provided to ordinary families.
Arora claimed that if Congress returned to power in Punjab, it could discontinue free electricity, the ₹10 lakh Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna health cover and financial assistance for women, while potentially bringing back toll plazas and imposing charges for canal water and higher electricity costs. He called on the Congress leadership to clarify its position on the continuation of these schemes.
Addressing a press conference, Arora said Warring’s reported remarks about restricting electricity subsidies and financial assistance for women on the basis of need had raised questions about the Congress party’s welfare agenda ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
“The people of Punjab deserve a clear answer on whether Congress intends to continue these benefits or withdraw them if elected to power,” Arora said.
He said the AAP government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, was providing electricity subsidies to households, farmers and industry. Referring to the financial assistance provided to women, he questioned the suggestion that benefits should be restricted to those considered needy.
Arora also asked what would happen to the ₹10 lakh Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna, closed toll plazas, expanded canal irrigation and the Mukh Mantri Teerath Yatra if Congress formed the next government.
Questioning who would determine eligibility for welfare schemes, Arora asked whether Warring or senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Pratap Singh Bajwa, would decide which families deserved electricity subsidies and which women should receive financial assistance.
He challenged Congress leaders, former ministers and legislators to lead by example if they believed that people who did not need subsidies should give them up. Arora questioned why Congress leaders and their families continued to benefit from government subsidies if the party believed such assistance should be restricted.
“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,” he said.
Arora also referred to the Congress party’s past record on electricity subsidies. Citing the period when Captain Amarinder Singh led the Congress government, he claimed that free electricity for farmers had been discontinued after the party came to power in 2002 and restored following the general election two-and-a-half years later.
He further said Congress had promised before the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections to continue free electricity, arguing that its past record should be considered when assessing its current position.
“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,” Arora said.
The AAP leader 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 if it came to power.
Arora warned that the implications could extend beyond electricity and women’s welfare, alleging that a Congress government might restore toll plazas, introduce charges for canal water supplied to agricultural fields, increase electricity costs and discontinue the ₹10 lakh health cover under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna.
He said the issue was whether welfare benefits reaching ordinary families would continue under a future government and urged voters to seek clear answers before the 2027 Assembly elections.
Arora maintained that Punjabis should assess the Congress party’s position on welfare schemes in light of Warring’s reported remarks and demand clarity on the future of the benefits currently being provided by the Mann government.
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