Shimla, March 21 Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Jai Ram Thakur, on Saturday said the budget presented by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is the most tedious, disappointing, and directionless budget in the state's history.
Speaking to the media here, the former chief minister said the budget offers absolutely nothing for the state, and that Himachal Pradesh's fiscal deficit has been steadily rising under the Congress government.
Thakur said that since the financial year 2023-24, the fiscal deficit has risen to Rs 10,300 crore, Rs 10,337 crore, Rs 12,414 crore, and Rs 9,896 crore on a year-on-year basis.
He added that in these respective years, the state's capital investment has dwindled to Rs 6,781 crore, Rs 6,239 crore, Rs 3,941 crore, and Rs 3,089 crore, implying that development has effectively come to a complete standstill.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that the budget of Himachal Pradesh has decreased by Rs 3,586 crore compared to the previous year—a drop of 6.13 per cent—and alleged that the Congress government is dragging the hill state backward.
He claimed that all the chief minister's announcements in his budget speech, much like previous budget declarations, will either gather dust or resemble unfulfilled election guarantees.
The chief minister is aware that after the next state polls, the Congress will "vanish" from Himachal Pradesh, just as it has faded away from the rest of the country, Thakur said, adding that consequently, by resorting to such tactics, the government is merely attempting to defer its liabilities.
Former Union minister Anurag Thakur accused the Congress government of plunging the state into a quagmire of debt, forcing it to resort to drastic measures, such as the deferment of employees' salaries.
The budget lacks any concrete economic roadmap, and the public is merely being misled through a series of announcements, the Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur said. "This is not a budget; it is the Congress party's management of failure," he added.
In a statement issued here, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut said the budget is not a symbol of hope, but rather of disappointment and deceit. While the government talks of providing Rs 1,500 each to women, not a single promise has been fulfilled over the last three years. Instead of providing employment to youngsters, the government is merely placating them under the guise of training and allowances, Ranaut added.
BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Sikander Kumar said the deferment of employees' salaries, ranging from 3 per cent to 50 per cent, serves as irrefutable proof that the state's economic condition has deteriorated to a critical level. "When the government itself is unable to pay salaries, how can it possibly deliver on development?" he asked.
"On one hand, the government is withholding salaries, on the other, it is attempting to mislead the public by marginally increasing small honorariums in an effort to mask its policy failures," said another BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan.
Criticising the budget, BJP state president Rajeev Bindal said it is a "back-gear budget" that will push Himachal Pradesh backwards. He said the drop of about Rs 4,000 crore in the budget will directly impact developmental projects across sectors, leading to a slowdown in infrastructure and welfare initiatives.
Bindal said the budget is nothing more than a compilation of hollow figures, lacking a clear direction and concrete relief measures for people. The BJP will continue to strongly oppose this anti-people budget and raise public concerns at every platform, he added.
