📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Krishna Chaitanya Velaga
Politics
Haryana CM Naib Singh Saini Raises Centre’s Punjab Flood‑Relief Funds Issue Ahead of Elections
✍️ Amar Ujala · Punjab
🗓 10 Nov 2026, 09:16 AM
👁 6
Just before the state elections, Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini accused the central government of allocating flood‑relief money to Punjab, calling the opposition’s response misleading.
In a press briefing held this week, Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini highlighted the central government's decision to release flood‑relief funds to the neighboring state of Punjab last year. He argued that the allocation, made under a national disaster‑relief scheme, is being used by political opponents to create controversy ahead of the upcoming state elections.
Saini asserted that the Centre’s assistance was a routine response to the severe floods that affected Punjab in 2023, and that any criticism of the move is merely an attempt to mislead the public. He warned that such political posturing could distract voters from pressing development issues in Haryana.
Opposition leaders, however, have questioned the timing of the CM’s remarks, suggesting that the issue is being politicised to divert attention from their own electoral challenges. The central government has not issued a separate statement on the matter, leaving the debate to unfold in the media and during campaign rallies.
Analysts note that flood‑relief funding often becomes a flashpoint in inter‑state politics, especially when elections are near, and that Saini’s comments are likely to intensify the narrative of regional competition between Haryana and Punjab.
Saini asserted that the Centre’s assistance was a routine response to the severe floods that affected Punjab in 2023, and that any criticism of the move is merely an attempt to mislead the public. He warned that such political posturing could distract voters from pressing development issues in Haryana.
Opposition leaders, however, have questioned the timing of the CM’s remarks, suggesting that the issue is being politicised to divert attention from their own electoral challenges. The central government has not issued a separate statement on the matter, leaving the debate to unfold in the media and during campaign rallies.
Analysts note that flood‑relief funding often becomes a flashpoint in inter‑state politics, especially when elections are near, and that Saini’s comments are likely to intensify the narrative of regional competition between Haryana and Punjab.