While Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday blamed the wrong policies of the BJP for making Himachal Pradesh poor, the opposition staged a walkout dissatisfied with his reply from the State Legislative Assembly.
The Chief Minister was responding to the two-day discussion on the economic condition of the state under Rule 130 in the Assembly on the last day of the monsoon session on Tuesday.
He further said that there is no economic crisis in Himachal, but there is a cash flow mismatch and the government is trying to control it.
Chief Minister Sukhu claimed that the state has overcome the economic crisis and is now moving on the path of financial discipline.
Disgruntled with the Chief Minister’s reply, the opposition walked out of the House saying that the Congress had lied in the name of guarantees to come to power.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that if the Chief Minister has any morality, he should apologize to the people of the state for lying and misleading them. During this, the opposition members also raised slogans in the House.
The Chief Minister said that keeping in mind the interest of the state, tough decisions will have to be taken to make it economically prosperous.
Appealing to the people of the state to stand with these decisions of the government, he said that only with the tough decisions of the government, Himachal will be able to become self-reliant by the year 2027.
He talked of making Section 118 more flexible to increase investment in the state.
The Chief Minister said: “The state government is currently spending Rs 27 thousand crore every year on the salaries and pensions of employees. Apart from this, Rs 3300 crores are also being spent every year on salaries and pensions in corporations and boards.”
He said that Rs 10,600 crore of NPS is lying with the Pension fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and out of this, Rs 600 crore belongs to the state government.
The Chief Minister said that he will raise the matter with the central government to get this money back.
He said that the state government will release DA and arrears to the employees and pensioners as soon as the financial condition of the state improves.
“The state government is constantly making efforts to increase the state’s income resources and make the state self-reliant. For this, the excise policy has been amended, VAT on diesel has been increased twice and the state’s New Mineral Policy has also been prepared,’ he informed the House.
He said that the government is making every possible effort to acquire the Shanan hydroelectric project.
Apart from this, the government will soon bring a new law for water cess, he added.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur interrupted the reply and said that BJP did not lie to come to power.
He accused the government of wasteful expenditure of Rs. 6 crore on fighting the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) and said that those who are teaching moral lessons to the opposition should look into their own affairs.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri condemned the walkout by the opposition and said that the BJP Legislature Party has become directionless.
He said that Himachal Vidhan Sabha has high traditions and till date it has never happened that the opposition was not present in the House during the end of the session.