Shimla – Congress Ministers Rohit Thakur and Vikramaditya Singh have rebutted allegations made by Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, accusing the BJP of obstructing Himachal Pradesh’s development and mismanaging funds.
Thakur and Singh defended the routine maintenance of government properties, including the repair of Jairam Thakur’s bungalow during his tenure. They dismissed the BJP’s claims as baseless and accused BJP leaders of hindering crucial financial aid to the state. They alleged that the BJP’s misrepresentation of the state’s borrowings led to delays in a ₹10,000 crore disaster relief claim submitted last year.
The Congress ministers also criticized the BJP for not addressing the ₹9,200 crore National Pension Scheme (NPS) funds stuck with the Central Government. They pointed out the previous BJP government’s failure to pay over ₹10,000 crores in benefits, including arrears and Dearness Allowance (DA), and only releasing ₹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, and restored the old pension scheme for 1.36 lakh employees.
Thakur and Singh further slammed the Central Government for reducing Himachal Pradesh’s loan limit and halting GST compensation, resulting in a ₹1,200 crore loss. They criticized the 15th Finance Commission for reducing the revenue deficit grant, leading to a ₹7,000 crore shortfall in development funds.
Additionally, they exposed alleged misuse of ₹1,000 crore in the Himcare scheme during the BJP’s tenure, with ₹450 crore directed to private hospitals. The Congress government has vowed to investigate this scam and hold those responsible accountable.
The ministers accused the BJP of hypocrisy, arguing that their history of financial mismanagement makes their criticisms of Congress spending misleading. They called on the BJP to support the state’s development rather than obstruct progress.
