Demand for Separate Ministry for Hill States Raised

BJP Lok Sabha MP Suresh Kashyap took the Himachal Pradesh Congress government to task in the Lok Sabha, stating that the Congress, which has been in power for the last 18 months and is part of the INDIA alliance, has stalled the development of Himachal Pradesh. He pointed out that many welfare schemes initiated by the BJP and the Jai Ram Thakur government are being discontinued. A recent example is the Himcare scheme, modeled after Ayushman Bharat, where there are pending dues of ₹370 crore, and private hospitals have stopped treating patients under this scheme. Moreover, women are not receiving ₹1500, youth are not getting jobs, and there is no procurement of cow dung or milk. He accused the government of being based on lies.

Kashyap also demanded the formation of a separate ministry for all hill states in the country to provide them with necessary assistance. He raised this request to the central government through the Chairman of the Lok Sabha.

Additionally, he highlighted Himachal Pradesh as a tourism state and asked for extra support. He called for accelerating tunnel construction projects in the state and requested the expansion of the CCE Cement Plant in his district, Sirmaur.

Praising the central budget, Kashyap noted that Himachal Pradesh is set to receive ₹10,352 crore, which will boost road and air connectivity in the state. He also thanked the central government for the ₹2,698 crore allocated for the railway budget for Himachal. He described Prime Minister Modi’s first budget of his third term as an all-encompassing budget.