Last Updated: March 14, 2023, 20:42 IST
Oppn leader Jai Ram Thakur with BJP MLAs stages a walkout on the first day of the budget session, in Shimla, on Tuesday. (PTI)
There was complete pandemonium in the house as the treasury benches and opposition members traded charges over the grave financial health of the state
The maiden budget session of the newly elected Himachal Vidhan Sabha started on an uproarious note with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staging a walkout, accusing the CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government of taking “anti-people” and “anti-democratic” steps.
Even as the BJP demanded restoration of the MLA Local Area Development (MLA LAD) fund stopped by the state, Sukhu clarified that the fund had only been stalled and not stopped. Not satisfied with the reply, the enraged BJP members left the house, raising slogans.
There was complete pandemonium in the house as the treasury benches and opposition members traded charges over the grave financial health of the state. “I was surprised to see that over 900 institutions were opened in the past six months without staff or budgetary provision by the previous BJP regime. In case we decided to open them, we would have required at least Rs 5,000 crore,” said Sukhu.
He said his government will bring out a White Paper on the financial health of the state, so that people know the unfulfilled liabilities his government had inherited along with a debt of Rs 75,000 crore.
The CM said Congress MLAs had also demanded restoration of the fund, but the grave financial health of the state cannot be ignored.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said the grant of MLA LAD fund was the right of the legislators as they spent it on some demands raised by the people. “The Rs 2 crore received under the fund is not for MLAs but for the benefit of common people. The government is in continuity, despite that the government chose to close the institutions that we had opened in public interest,” said Thakur.
Thakur said it was wrong to mislead the public on the issue of financial position of the state. “We too honoured the liabilities left by the previous Congress regime in 2017, when the debt burden was Rs 48,000 crore, which rose to Rs 69,600 crore during our rule,” the former CM said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said the issue does not concern only BJP legislators but all the MLAs and the demand for its restoration was under consideration.
Later speaking to media, the CM lashed out at the BJP for staging a walkout just to make headlines.
“The Opposition wants to make headlines by staging a walkout on non-issues. If they were so keen to hold a debate, they should have given notice on issues of public interest, development work or some major incident,” said Sukhu.
“Giving adjournment motion for restoration of MLA LAD Fund is not right. What is even more unfortunate is that the BJP staged a walkout to gain political mileage as the issue could have easily been discussed across the table and not by seeking adjournment of the listed business in the house as it concerns 68 MLAs and not the public,” he remarked.
Thakur hit back at the CM claiming that the stoppage of the fund was an anti-people decision.
“Nine BJP MLAs had given notice under Rule 67 seeking debate on the issue of stopping MLA LAD Fund, which was not allowed,” he said.
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