Chandigarh, March 11 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday slammed the opposition, accusing it of abandoning the budget debate because it could not defend its criticism of his government's new scheme to give Rs.1,000 per month to women. Concluding the debate on the budget estimates for 2026-27 in the state assembly, amid a boycott by the main opposition party, the Congress, CM Mann said his government has fulfilled all poll promises and will now introduce additional welfare schemes as a 'bonus' for the people. "The government is now preparing its agenda for the 2027 assembly elections. Opposition parties had earlier claimed that free electricity could not be provided, yet the Punjab Government successfully fulfilled the promise. They also claimed that Bhagwant Singh Mann would not remain chief minister even for a year, yet I have been serving for four years," Mann said. Congratulating finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema for presenting a 'people-friendly budget', the CM said the budget focuses on providing facilities to those whose progress is often hindered by financial constraints. "For the first time in the history of Punjab, a government has fulfilled all its election guarantees within four years. The manifestos of traditional parties were merely formalities. For the first time, a government treated budget as a sacred document and fulfilled every promise made to the people", he said, adding "The budget includes providing benefits of the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satkar Yojna to 97% of women, providing free ration to 40 lakh families under the 'Meri Rasoi' scheme, and offering cashless medical treatment up to Rs.10 lakh under health scheme," the CM said. He added that earlier budgets were limited to paving streets and drains, whereas the present government is focusing on providing world-class education to children, quality healthcare services, and building medical colleges. "Seven medical colleges are being established in the state. These colleges will be built in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Sangrur, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Lehragaga, Malerkotla and Ludhiana, which will add 600 MBBS seats," Mann stated in the House. Taking note of the absence of opposition party leaders, CM said that wealthy leaders of traditional parties are deliberately insulting poor people. "Traditional parties never worked for the welfare of the poor, due to which many families still struggle with poverty and find it difficult to arrange two meals a day," he said, highlighting Rs.1,500 financial aid to Dalit women. "The Meri Rasoi scheme will ensure nutritious food for 40 lakh families, especially their children," Mann said. Under the scheme, each family will receive a kit containing 2 kg of sugar, 2 kg of pulses, 1 litre of mustard oil, 200 g of turmeric and 1 kg of salt. Referring to efforts to ensure canal water reaches tail-end areas and reduce dependence on groundwater, the CM said that recent data reflect encouraging results. "According to data presented in the Rajya Sabha by the Central Groundwater Board, groundwater levels have increased in 57% of observation wells in Punjab, with the rise mostly ranging between 0 and 4 metres," Mann said. He said to commemorate the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, a world-class university is being established at Anandpur Sahib, adding that the 650th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas Ji will be celebrated on a large scale and Rs.100 crore has been allocated in the budget for this purpose....