Chandigarh: Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday dismissed Congress MP and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s statements on the state’s lottery operations as “baseless and misleading”, citing a sharp rise in lottery revenue and GST collections under the AAP govt.In a statement, Cheema said net receipts from state lotteries stood at Rs 19.33 crore in 2021-22, during Channi’s tenure, compared with Rs 70.6 crore in 2025-26. The state had already collected Rs 54.2 crore in net receipts in the current financial year up to Oct 31, he added.Cheema also claimed that GST collections from lotteries had nearly tripled, rising from Rs 32.8 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 93.09 crore in 2025-26. Collections in the current financial year up to Oct 31 stood at Rs 59.4 crore, he said.Citing the combined revenue from lottery operations, including net receipts and GST, Cheema said the Congress govt had generated around Rs 52.1 crore in 2021-22, against Rs 163.7 crore under the AAP govt in 2025-26 — an increase of more than 200%.He accused Channi of making misleading claims in an attempt to remain politically releva
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