Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has taken exception to Union Health Minister JP Nadda’s remarks that the Congress government in the state could not survive without the Central Government’s assistance even for a day.
He yesterday said that the revenue deficit grant and a share in taxes were the right of Himachal Pradesh and not doles. He added that the Union Minister should know that there’s a federal system in the country and the Central Government did no favour to Himachal Pradesh by extending assistance to it.
“From where does the Central Government get taxes? It gets its money by collecting taxes from states. So, the Central Government is not doing any charity, it’s the right of people and the states to get assistance from it,” Sukhu said while inaugurating a new OPD block of the Cancer Hospital in Shimla.
A few days ago, Nadda had said in a rally in the state that the Congress government was financially dependent on the Central Government. “The Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) and our share in central taxes are our rights. So, it was inappropriate for the Union Minister to make such comments,” Sukhu added.
He said that the state government was providing funds from its own resources to improve the health infrastructure, which the BJP government had mismanaged. “The state government has allocated Rs 200 crore each to the medical colleges in Chamba and Hamirpur from its own resources. We are also recruiting doctors and nurses to provide better healthcare services to the people of the state. The Union Government is not providing these funds,” he added.
The Chief Minister said that Nadda falsely accused the state government of imposing ‘toilet’ tax. “BJP leaders have been making such allegations to influence the Haryana elections. No such tax has been imposed, yet it became a national news,” he added.
