hp-assembly-s-budget-session-likely-to-generate-political-heat-ahead-of-polls

The budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly beginning Wednesday is likely to generate much political heat in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

The budget session, which has been notified early this time ( February 14-29) due to Lok Sabha polls, will have 13 sittings in all.

It will open with the Governor’s address, and see Chief Minister  Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is also the Finance Minister, present the state budget for 2024-2025 on 17 February.

With polls in mind, however, the Congress government will have to tread cautiously on many issues concerning the public in the budget proposals, especially on the employment front, the Chief Minister has so far indicated that the budget would focus on measures to mobilise resources and bring Himachal Pradesh out of the economic distress, with the state reeling under the debt burden of over Rs 80,000 crore presently.

“You will get the vision for ‘Atamnirbhar Himachal in the budget proposals. We want to make Himachal a self-reliant state in the next four years and a prosperous state in the next ten years by taking concrete steps,” the Chief Minister told media persons recently.

He hinted at some more welfare measures for marginalized sections in the state, continuing with his commitment to bring them to the mainstream, along with schemes to strengthen the economy of farmers. 

 

The present government’s vision to take the state towards green energy may also be reflected in the budget.

 

The BJP, which is already in poll mode on the ground in the hill state and is working at the booth level to take the achievements of the Modi government of the last ten years to the people, is likely to question the Congress government on its stance on poll guarantees.

 

 “The Congress came into power in Himachal Pradesh with fake guarantees. The government has neither fulfilled the guarantee of giving employment to the youth nor paid Rs 1500 per month to the women in the state.

 

Since it came into power in Himachal, the Congress government has taken the state towards inflation in the name of ‘Atmanirbhar Himachal’,” leader of the opposition, Jai Ram Thakur told media persons recently. He said the BJP would not take the things lying down and rake up all issues of public importance aggressively.

 

Sources said the BJP is all geared up to grill the government on issues of routine governance, bad roads and the delayed decision on the MLA fund, which was released only after the opposition party made it a public issue.

On the other hand, sources said the ruling Congress may throw up the discussion on the Centre’s grave indifference to bail out Himachal Pradesh from the losses incurred in the worst natural calamity last year. 

 

The state government reportedly received a few hundred crore Rupees as disaster relief from the Centre against the amount of Rs 9905 crore mentioned in the Memorandum of Losses on account of the unprecedented natural calamity that hit Himachal.

 

Along with its achievements, including the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme, the Congress party has made the Centre’s cold shoulder to Himachal in crisis a major issue in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

 

The continuous tug of war between Congress and BJP on the issue—with the BJP holding that the Centre has helped Himachal a great deal with disaster relief money and Congress denying it and alleging that the state BJP did not back the state’s claim for disaster relief funds from Centre- is likely to echo strongly in the budget session of the state Assembly.