Himachal assembly budget session: BJP, Congress spar over closure of institutes

The BJP accused the government of closing the institutes motivated by political vendetta, while the Congress accused the BJP of opening the institutes without any planning and thus putting fiscal burden on the state.

The Congress and the BJP sparred over the issue of closing educational institutions in Himachal assembly on Friday.

The Congress and the BJP sparred over the issue of closing educational institutions in Himachal assembly on Friday. (HT Photo)

The BJP accused the government of closing the institutes motivated by political vendetta, while the Congress accused the BJP of opening the institutes without any planning and thus putting fiscal burden on the state.

The issue came up when BJP MLA from Naina Devi Randhir Sharma raised the question as to how many new institutions the Congress government has opened in the state till January 2025, how many posts have been created, and whether budget arrangements have been made for these institutions or not.

Replying to which, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri said the government has already opened 35 institutions in the first year and these institutions will be established as per the requirement in future as well.

Taking a dig at the BJP, the deputy chief minister alleged that the former BJP government had opened hundreds of institutions without budget provision before leaving, the purpose of which was only to take electoral advantage. He said that the Congress government is setting up institutions in a prudent manner, giving priority to the interest of the state. The process of rationalization is being adopted in different departments, whether it is the education department or the rural development department.

Leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur said, “For this first time in history of Himachal Pradesh if anyone has done a very shameful thing with political vendetta, then it is done by the Sukhu government”.