Budget session of Himachal Assembly set to be stormy affair

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, February 13

The 13-day Budget session of the Assembly is likely to be stormy as both Congress and BJP are gearing up to corner each other ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has chosen to hold the Assembly session well in advance to ensure that the Budget is presented before the model code of conduct comes into effect on the announcement of the parliamentary elections. Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio, will present the Budget proposals for financial year 2024-25 on February 17.

The BJP will focus on non-fulfilment of the 10 guarantees that the Congress had given to people before the 2022 Assembly elections. “The government has failed to provide Rs 1,500 per month to women. It has neither provided the promised 300 units of free power nor created jobs,” says Randhir Sharma, Naina Devi MLA and state BJP spokesperson.

The BJP will also raise the issue of the closure of about 1,000 government institutions by the Congress government. “The Congress regime has set a bad precedent by closing these institutions that our government had opened in public interest and with the Cabinet approval,” says Rajeev Bindal, state BJP president.

The Congress, on the other hand, will try to show the BJP in bad light and as ‘anti Himachal’ by driving home the point that the Central Government has been discriminating against the hill state in granting special financial assistance. “Himachal suffered over Rs 10,000 crore loss due to unprecedented rains last year but the BJP did not support a resolution passed by the Assembly to urge he Central Government to provide special financial assistance,” say Sukhu.

The delay in the declaration of the results of the recruitment examinations conducted by the disbanded Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC) has angered job aspirants, who have taken to streets to register their protest. Even as a Cabinet sub-committee has been constituted to examine its legal aspects, the issue is bound to echo in the House.

The Budget session will have 13 sittings and will conclude on February 29. So far, the legislators have submitted 793 questions, including 582 starred and 209 unstarred. Besides, eight notices have been received for discussions under Rule 130.

The questions submitted by the MLAs mainly pertain to vacancies in health and educational institutions, condition of roads, drug menace, unemployment and power generation.