Shimla, August 20: Congress ministers Rohit Thakur and Vikramaditya Singh have refuted allegations levelled by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur accusing the BJP of obstructing Himachal Pradesh’s development and mismanaging funds.
Thakur and Singh defended the regular maintenance of government properties, including repairs of Jai Ram Thakur’s bungalow, during his tenure. They termed the BJP’s claims baseless and accused BJP leaders of obstructing crucial financial assistance to the state. They alleged that a ₹10,000 crore disaster relief claim submitted last year was delayed due to the BJP providing incorrect information about the state’s borrowings.
The Congress ministers also criticised the BJP for not resolving the ₹9,200 crore National Pension Scheme (NPS) funds stuck with the central government. They accused the previous BJP government of failing to pay benefits of over Rs 10,000 crore, including arrears and dearness allowance (DA), and releasing only Rs 50,000 as the first instalment of arrears.
In contrast, the Congress government has increased DA by 7%, is releasing full arrears for over 28,000 pensioners above 75 years of age and restored the old pension scheme for 1.36 lakh employees.
Thakur and Singh criticised the central government for reducing Himachal Pradesh’s loan limit and stopping GST compensation, resulting in a loss of Rs 1,200 crore. They also criticised the 15th Finance Commission for reducing the revenue deficit grant, which led to a shortfall of Rs 7,000 crore in development funds.
Additionally, they highlighted the alleged misuse of Rs 1,000 crore in the Himcare scheme during the BJP’s tenure, with Rs 450 crore being given to private hospitals. The Congress government has promised to investigate the scam and hold those responsible accountable.
The ministers accused the BJP of hypocrisy and argued that their history of financial mismanagement makes Congress’ criticism of spending misleading. They called on the BJP to support the state’s development instead of hindering it.
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