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Congress to declare RS candidate soon: Agnihotri
Himachal Pradesh's Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri announced that the Congress will finalize a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat soon, ensuring vigilance against BJP strategies.
Himachal Pradesh deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Wednesday said that the candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha seat will be finalised soon, adding that they won’t allow BJP to repeat its earlier “strategy”.
The voting for RS seat will be held on March 16. Currently, Indu Goswami, from BJP, is the MP.
“In the coming days, the RS polls will take place and the party high command will soon decide the candidate. I don’t think the BJP will be able to make any attempt this time. Earlier they managed to win the seat despite our efforts to defeat ‘Operation Lotus’, but this time Congress is fully alert,” said Agnihotri, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of a press conference to highlight transport sector reforms.
Referring to the previous polls, Agnihotri said, “BJP may have won the RS seat once, but it cannot happen repeatedly.”
On the issue of Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) halt, the deputy CM said the Congress leadership of Himachal had recently met the party high command and raised the concern. He said the matter was discussed at length with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.
Agnihotri added that the state was already facing fiscal pressures due to the end of GST compensation, deductions linked to the Old Pension Scheme and pending disaster relief funds. “Congress will not roll back the subsidies or OPS. Even the ₹1,500 crore disaster assistance announced by the Prime Minister has not been received yet, and borrowing limits have also been fixed, creating financial constraints for the state,” he said.
Targeting Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, Agnihotri alleged that he did not support the state’s stand on RDG. “The Himachal assembly passed a resolution seeking continuation of the RDG, but Jai Ram Thakur neither participated nor allowed his party to support it. This is not a political issue but a matter concerning the state’s financial stability,” he said.
‘Vintage cars to get special registration’
Himachal Pradesh is set to introduce special registration for vintage vehicles while accelerating digital automation across the transport sector, Agnihotri said on Wednesday.
“Vehicles registered before 1950 and 1975 would be classified under a special category. They will be treated as vintage vehicles and will get a ‘VA’ number and will be registered under the vintage category. These vehicles will not be scrapped,” he said.
He further said the government had introduced a vintage vehicle policy. “Vehicles over 50 years old kept at home can now be registered under the vintage category with a special series. Owners can preserve them, display them and use them occasionally,” he said.
Announcing policy steps for taxi operators, Agnihotri said, “We have taken up the issue with Union minister Nitin Gadkari to align taxi permit validity with a 15-year vehicle life. With around 35,000 taxis in the state, this will benefit operators across the country once notified,” he said.
On revenue generation, Agnihotri said the transport department had achieved ₹1,000 crore revenue with an annual growth rate of 8%. “We expect revenue to reach about ₹1,250 crore next year,” he added.
The deputy CM said the transport department has recorded strong revenue growth. “The transport department has earned revenue of ₹1,000 crore in a year. In three years our government has generated ₹2,744 crore, whereas during the BJP tenure it was ₹1,564 crore. For these steps, our government has been rewarded,” he said. He added that the state received incentives from the Centre, including ₹21.71 crore earlier and ₹93 crore for 2025–26.
Agnihotri added that the Centre had provided incentives nearing ₹100 crore for reforms, including ₹35 crore for road safety and ₹59 crore for meeting prescribed standards.
The Deputy CM also announced a major procedural reform. “New vehicles will be registered directly from showrooms with permanent numbers, reducing rush at RTO offices. Auto driving test tracks will also be registered, and medical certificates will be issued online by doctors, which will help end corruption in the system,” he said.
