BJP Govt. could have made Himachal a debt-free state: Sukhu

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has accused the previous BJP government of pushing Himachal Pradesh into a financial crisis while addressing the Congress Seva Dal Karykarta Sammelan at the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan, here today.

The Chief Minister said that if the BJP government had wanted, it could have made Himachal a debt-free state. He said that the previous government received nearly Rs. 60,000 crore through GST compensation and Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG). If even Rs. 48,000 crore of this amount had been used to repay the state’s debt, Himachal could have become debt-free but the BJP government instead used these funds for political gains.

Sh. Sukhu said the present Congress government has received only around Rs. 17,000 crore, nearly three times less than the previous government. Despite this, the state government is continuously working to make Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant state.

He said the former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur made no serious efforts to make Himachal financially self-reliant and the Central Government was also denying the state’s statutory rights by stopping the RDG.

Despite financial challenges, the present state government introduced several important reforms in the education and healthcare sectors. He said that during the BJP government, Himachal slipped to 21st position in the country in quality education, but now has moved to 5th position after the reforms taken by the Congress government.

The Chief Minister said the state government is continuously improving medical services. No other government hospital in North India currently offers robotic surgery facilities, while Himachal has already taken lead in this direction.

Sh. Sukhu said that that irregularity took place under the Himcare Scheme, including bills being generated for hysterectomy surgeries in male patients due to corruption during BJP government tenure. This scam involved nearly Rs. 1,000 crore. The present Congress government is committed to take strict action against corruption and no allegations have been made against his government during the last three and a half years.

The Chief Minister further said that during the previous government, around 5,000 bighas of land was reportedly allotted to industrialists in the Baddi area for just rupees one crore, without charging any registration fee.

Referring to the Agniveer Scheme, Sh. Sukhu said the Central Government has ignored the interests of young people, while the Himachal Government was making continuous efforts to provide employment opportunities. He said recruitment had been completed for 1,000 posts of constables in the Police department and 800 more posts would be filled in the near future.

On the NEET examination issue, the Chief Minister said the paper leak was a betrayal of students and youth trust. The Central Government should ensure accountability and those responsible must resign. He also alleged that students protesting at Jantar Mantar were lathi-charged and that Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was forcibly detained by the police. He also condemned the alleged mistreatment of Priyanka Gandhi.

Sh. Sukhu appealed to Congress workers to take the state government’s policies and welfare programmes to every household so that more people can benefit from them.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee President Vinay Kumar said that the Congress Seva Dal has a proud history of 103 years. The state government is giving due respect to party leaders and workers, sending a positive message across the organization. He said that continuous efforts are being made to further strengthen the Congress Seva Dal.

Vinay Kumar also condemned the mistreatment of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and announced that the Congress would organise protests across the state on the issue. He said party workers must remain united to strengthen the Congress government in the state.

MLA Sudarshan Babloo, HPSIDC Chairman and Congress Seva Dal Chief Anurag Sharma, Congress General Secretary Vinod Jinta, Congress Seva Dal Himachal Pradesh In-charge Jyoti Khanna and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.