The Himachal Pradesh Budget debate on Tuesday witnessed sharp exchanges, with the BJP accusing the Congress government of diverting the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) to fulfil election guarantees instead of prioritising development.
Participating in the discussion on the 2026-27 budget, Naina Devi MLA Randhir Sharma alleged that the state government was seeking untied funds from the Centre to spend without accountability.
He argued that with the RDG being phased out, the Congress should reassess the guarantees it had made ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections.
Taking a swipe at the Chief Minister, he added that the Assembly was not a political platform and accused him of harbouring a “BJP phobia”.
Sharma also questioned the Chief Minister’s recent visit to Delhi, claiming he failed to secure meetings with key central leaders, including the Prime Minister and the Union Finance Minister.
On fiscal management, Sharma said the government had failed to take concrete steps to boost revenue. He suggested measures such as cutting wasteful expenditure, improving excise and mining policies, and promoting new tourist destinations. He termed the Budget “misleading” and accused the government of indulging in “jugglery of figures”.
Highlighting fiscal stress, he said committed liabilities, which stood at Rs 71 out of every Rs 100 during the BJP regime, had now increased, leaving only Rs 20 for development works.
However, Congress MLAs countered the criticism, blaming the Centre for the state’s financial constraints. Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthy said the reduction of Rs 3,586 crore in the Budget size was a direct result of the Centre scrapping the RDG.
He also accused the BJP of not supporting the state’s demand to declare recent rain-induced disasters as a national disaster.
Awasthy further flagged that Himachal Pradesh was not being compensated for providing ecological services worth Rs 90,000 crore annually in the form of a Green Bonus.
Rohru MLA Mohan Lal Brakta termed the Rs 4,000 crore RDG cut as an injustice to the people of the state, while Jogindernagar MLA Prakash Rana stressed the need for fiscal prudence and reduction in wasteful spending instead of shrinking the Budget.
Other legislators raised constituency-specific concerns. Manali MLA Rajeshwar Gaur highlighted repeated damage to the Kullu-Manali road, warning of its adverse impact on tourism.
Nachan MLA Vinod Kumar expressed concern over a jaundice outbreak in Mandi district’s Gohar area, which has claimed two lives and affected around 250 people.
Several other members, including Vivek Sharma, Suresh Kumar, Sukh Ram Chaudhary, Hardeep Singh Bawa and Hans Raj, also participated in the debate, reflecting a mix of political confrontation and local governance issues.
