Shimla, March 18 The Himachal Pradesh Assembly Budget Session began on Wednesday on a contentious note with the opposition BJP submitting a notice to the Speaker against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, accusing him of misleading the House by making false claims about government loans.
Just before the House reconvened after 28 days, BJP MLAs, shouting slogans, marched towards the Speaker's chamber to submit a notice under Rule 75.
Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur told reporters that the chief minister had informed the House on August 26, 2025, that the government had raised loans amounting to Rs 26,830 crore, repaid Rs 8,253 crore, and made a provision of Rs 10,581 crore in 2025-26 for loan repayment.
He said that on February 17, the chief minister had informed the House that his government had raised Rs 23,000 crore and repaid Rs 26,000 crore.
On February 18, Sukhu told the House that the government had raised Rs 35,482 crore over the past three years and returned Rs 27,043 crore.
"How was it possible to repay a loan of Rs 19,000 crore when the provision for 2025-26 was only Rs 10,581 crore?" he asked.
Speaking to the media, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said that a petition under Rule 75 (breach of privilege) was received on Wednesday morning, and the Vidhan Sabha secretariat will examine whether it attracts action under the provision.
He said that so far he had not gone through the petition and added that both the ruling Congress and opposition BJP had submitted petitions under Rule 75 during the winter session held in Dharamshala in November 2025, and all issues are being examined.
Responding to a question on maintaining decorum in the House, the speaker said ample time is given to all legislators, but speaking while sitting and not adhering to the rules will call for action.