Punjab Flood Crisis: AAP Criticizes Minister, Seeks Urgent Relief
Chandigarh, September 6, 2025: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab sharply criticized Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday for attributing the state’s severe flooding to illegal mining, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of neglecting the crisis-hit region. Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, also the AAP Punjab unit president, dismissed Chouhan’s claims as baseless, arguing that floods in other states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana could not be similarly blamed. Arora accused BJP leaders of visiting flood-affected areas for publicity stunts rather than providing tangible aid.
The AAP highlighted the central government’s failure to release any financial assistance despite Punjab’s request for ₹60,000 crore in pending funds. “Chouhan ji posed for photos in knee-deep water but didn’t announce a single penny for Punjab,” Arora told reporters in Mohali, as reported by The Hindu. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasizing the scale of the disaster, described as one of Punjab’s worst in decades.
Chouhan, who toured flood-hit areas in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Kapurthala on Thursday, attributed the flooding partly to weakened river embankments caused by illegal mining along the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and Ghaggar rivers. In a post on X, he noted that these embankments were strengthened during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal but have since deteriorated. He pledged to submit a detailed flood report to Modi, as per The Hindu.
State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema criticized the central government’s inaction, noting that other states like Odisha and West Bengal received prompt aid. “Fifteen days have passed, and the Prime Minister hasn’t uttered a word for Punjab,” Cheema said. The floods, triggered by heavy rainfall and swollen rivers, have devastated Punjab, submerging farmlands and affecting thousands of residents.
