Sundernagar: Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur on Wednesday alleged that the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is retreating from the 10 guarantees it had promised before the Assembly elections and is now admitting to a financial crisis of its own making.
Addressing a BJP meeting in Sundernagar, Jairam said the state is facing a difficult economic situation due to what he termed as a combination of natural disasters and wrong financial decisions taken by the present government. He claimed that the Congress had come to power by giving “guarantees without financial backing” and is now preparing for a U-turn on several key promises.
He said the government had assured the public of creating lakhs of jobs, providing 300 units of free electricity, expanding social security pensions and safeguarding employee benefits. However, he alleged that the Finance Department’s recent presentation indicates a review of electricity subsidies, curtailment of freebies and rationalisation of several welfare schemes.
Jairam further claimed that while around ₹1,500 crore was earlier being spent annually on social security pensions, there is now discussion about reducing the outlay to nearly ₹500 crore. He termed it a direct blow to poor families and senior citizens who depend on such assistance.
Raising the issue of government employees, the Leader of the Opposition said the state is expressing its inability to release Dearness Allowance (DA) and pending arrears. He also alleged that the promise of constituting a new Pay Commission is being reconsidered. Referring to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), he said the Congress had assured employees of its implementation but is now reportedly talking about reviewing it and moving towards a Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which he described as a betrayal of trust.
He also claimed that the financial presentation suggests development works may slow down and the subsidy structure could see major cuts. According to him, this reflects financial mismanagement and misplaced priorities.
Jairam added that the phased reduction of the Revenue Deficit Grant was already clarified by the Finance Commission earlier and was not a new development. He alleged that instead of accepting responsibility, the state government is blaming the Centre to deflect attention from its own failures.
