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Debate on budget heats up in Himachal assembly
While the members of the ruling party in HP termed the defeat in the four by-elections an opportunity to introspect and improve, the Opposition members accused the chief minister of running the party at government expenses
The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on Tuesday stepped up offensive against each other during the debate on the Himachal Pradesh’s budget for the financial year 2022-23.
While the members of the ruling party termed the defeat in the four by-elections an opportunity to introspect and improve, the Opposition members accused the chief minister of running the party at government expenses.
Participating in the budget discussion, education minister Govind Thakur said the BJP lost the by-elections due to overconfidence. However, this loss gave the party a chance to rethink and recover, he said, adding that the BJP has got an opportunity to work hard again after this defeat.
The minister said that chief minister Jai Ram Thakur has worked as per his name and steps taken to establish “Ram Rajya” in the state have borne fruit. He said the schemes launched by the CM in the last four budgets have brought prosperity to every section of the society. He said in the budget for the next year, the CM has reduced the age limit for social security pension and this decision will benefit a large number of people. He also termed this announcement of the chief minister historic.
Congress member Harshvardhan Chauhan, meanwhile, accused Jai Ram of misusing the public money to run his party. He alleged that the government was working on principle of might is right. He termed the budget hollow and said that he had never seen such a fictitious budget ever.
Chauhan said that on one hand, the rate of inflation is 6%, while on the other hand, only 2% growth was made in the budget and that too is only in figures.
He said the general and supplementary budget of the current financial year has touched ₹52,392 crore, while the budget of the next financial year is ₹51,365 crore, which is less than the budget of the current financial year. He asked when the government is showing a reduction in the budget, how has the growth rate been calculated to be 8.3%. Chauhan said in 2019, 1.72 crore tourists visited the state, while in 2021 their number has come down to 56.31 lakh. Despite this, he said, showing the state’s growth rate of 8.3% in 2021-22 by the government is beyond everyone’s comprehension.
BJP member Colonel Inder Singh termed the decision to raise the age limit for social security pension to 60 years a revolutionary step. He described the budget as excellent and said that the Opposition should also praise it.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur would reply to the budget debate on Wednesday.
During the post-lunch session amid pandemonium in the House, Congress MLAs, who vehemently objected to the Jal Shakti minister’s remarks made against the Kangra legislator Pawan Kajal, staged a walkout. Opposition leader Mukesh Agnihotri and BJP’s senior-most minister Mahender Singh entered into a verbal duel after he objected to the former’s remarks against Kajal.
Kajal alleged that Jal Shakti minister had discriminated against Kangra while allocating funds for flood protection and under Jal Jeevan Mission. He said the government allocated ₹1,250 crore for Mandi while only disbursed ₹800 crore to Kangra.
Thakur denied Kajal’s allegation while leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri demanded white paper on the funds spent under Jal Jeevan Mission.
