Shimla – Leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh, Jairam Thakur, delivered a scathing critique of the state budget presented by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Thakur accused the Congress-led government of resorting to misleading tactics and emphasized that the people of Himachal Pradesh would not be swayed by false promises.
In his statement, Jairam Thakur highlighted the pattern of unfulfilled guarantees made by the Congress government, pointing to the discrepancy between promises and actions. Thakur asserted that the government’s attempts to mislead the public, especially with Lok Sabha elections on the horizon, would not succeed. He expressed skepticism about the veracity of the announcements made in the budget, citing the lack of relief for various sections of society.
Thakur questioned the government’s commitment to employee welfare, asserting that there was no mention of it in the budget. He also raised concerns about the One Rank One Pension (OPS) issue, suggesting that the government was attempting to reduce the facilities for OPS beneficiaries.
Taking a swipe at the Congress government’s financial management, Thakur criticized their excessive borrowing, stating that the government had taken loans to such an extent that it broke records, accumulating Rs 14,000 crore in 14 months. He questioned the efficacy of the government’s revenue-generation strategies and challenged the claimed growth rate, stating that the growth rate had decreased compared to previous years.
Thakur also scrutinized the implementation of welfare schemes, particularly the Arogya Yojana and Sukh Shiksha Yojana, suggesting that merely mentioning schemes with the Chief Minister’s name did not ensure their effective implementation.
The Leader of Opposition rejected the budget outright, citing the ongoing issues faced by various sections of society, including unemployed individuals protesting on the streets and outsourced employees staging dharnas after losing their jobs. Thakur concluded by expressing a lack of confidence in the government’s ability to regain public trust through repeated false promises.
