Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led central government over the Reserve Bank of India’s record dividend transfer of Rs 2.87 lakh crore to the Centre, accusing the Narendra Modi government of increasingly treating the central bank as its “personal treasury” while allegedly denying states their rightful financial share.
The remarks came a day after the Reserve Bank of India announced a historic surplus transfer of Rs 2.87 lakh crore to the Centre for the financial year ending March 2026. The massive transfer is expected to provide significant fiscal support to the Union government at a time when global supply-chain disruptions and rising import costs linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict continue to place pressure on the economy.
Cheema, who is also a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, alleged that the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had steadily increased withdrawals from RBI reserves since coming to power in 2014.
According to Cheema, the Centre has received nearly Rs 14.29 lakh crore from the RBI since 2014, with more than half of that amount transferred during just the last three financial years.
“The financial structure of the country is based on federalism. Every Indian contributes to the economy, and every state contributes to national growth and revenue generation. Then, why are states denied their rightful share of such extraordinary gains?” Cheema said in a video statement.
“The rights of the states must be protected, and the Central Government should not deprive states of their rightful share,” he added.
Cheema argued that the RBI’s surplus income is generated from economic activity occurring across all Indian states and therefore should not remain entirely concentrated with the central government.
Highlighting the rapid rise in annual RBI transfers, he pointed out that the central bank transferred Rs 2.10 lakh crore in 2023-24, Rs 2.68 lakh crore in 2024-25, and now nearly Rs 2.87 lakh crore in 2025-26.
According to him, the last three years alone account for more than 53 percent of all transfers made by the RBI to the Centre since 2014.
“The scale and frequency of these transfers are unprecedented,” Cheema said.
“Earlier, such extraordinary withdrawals from RBI reserves were seen only during exceptional circumstances or periods of major financial stress. But now, continuous extraction of RBI surplus has become the norm. This raises serious questions about fiscal management and the long-term institutional strength of the central bank,” he added.
The Punjab Finance Minister described the issue as a challenge to India’s cooperative federal structure and argued that states were facing the same economic pressures and global uncertainties as the Union government.
He said state governments are simultaneously managing welfare obligations, inflationary pressures, subsidy burdens, and rising public expenditure while allegedly not receiving proportional benefits from extraordinary financial gains generated at the national level.
“Federalism cannot mean that states bear the burden while the Centre keeps the entire RBI windfall,” Cheema stated.
“Extraordinary gains of this nature should be brought into the divisible pool and shared fairly with all states,” he added.
Cheema also criticised the Centre’s broader economic management and questioned why inflation and fuel prices remain high despite repeated large-scale transfers from the RBI.
“The economic crisis of the nation is before the country today. Withdrawal of Rs 2.87 lakh crore out of the collection from all states is very dangerous,” he said.
“The BJP is trying to dismantle the federal structure of the country. PM Modi and the BJP should clear their stand on the economic system of the country. It seems that the economic system of the country is getting ruined gradually,” he further alleged.
Expressing concern regarding the RBI’s long-term financial resilience, Cheema argued that attempts to reduce the fiscal deficit should not weaken the institutional and reserve strength of India’s central bank.
“The RBI serves as the nation’s economic shock absorber and monetary stabiliser during periods of crisis,” he said.
“Excessive extraction of reserves may weaken the long-term resilience and economic immunity of the country,” he added.
Cheema also appealed to the RBI leadership to safeguard the institution’s autonomy and independence while warning against excessive dependence on central bank reserves for fiscal management.
“India cannot aspire to build a strong and resilient economy with a weakened central bank and financially constrained states,” he said.
He further urged Prime Minister Modi to directly address concerns regarding inflation, rising LPG and fuel prices, and the broader condition of the Indian economy despite repeated financial transfers from the RBI to the Centre.
The record dividend transfer by the RBI has now triggered a broader political debate regarding fiscal federalism, the distribution of national financial resources between the Centre and states, and the long-term implications of repeated large-scale withdrawals from central bank surpluses.
