Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's letter rejecting higher financial assistance to Punjab has given ample ammunition to Opposition leaders in the state ruled by a SADBJP coalition government.

Promising good days to the electorate in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal had claimed in the recent by-elections that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would send "truckloads of cash" to the state.

In his letter, Jaitley not only advised the Punjab government to rationalise the power subsidy but also said the state "got more than its share of central assistance" from the erstwhile UPA government.

"Central taxes amounting to Rs 4,431.47 crore have been devolved to the state during 2013-14, besides the additional Central assistance of Rs 887 crore approved in March 2014. Central loans amounting to Rs 370.70 crore were waived from 2005-06 to 2007-08, while loans worth Rs 35.69 crore for Central-sponsored schemes outstanding as on January 31, 2010, had been written off. Rs 100 crore has already been released to deal with the water logging problem," Jaitley wrote in his letter.