Cong govt to blame for financial crisis, not Centre: MLA
Naina Devi MLA Randhir Sharma today said that the state was in a financial crisis due to fiscal mismanagement by the state government and not because of the previous BJP government or the Central Government.
Sharma, while participating in the debate over the Budget proposals, said that the government was wrong in blaming the reduction in the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) and the end of the GST compensation for the current financial crisis as the RDG had been reducing since 2020 and the GST compensation had stopped for every state in 2022. “The Congress government has not been able to increase its revenue, there has been no investment and the industry is moving out of the state,” he added.
Sharma pointed out towards the increased burden of pension on the state exchequer. “The pension liability was 15 per cent of the total expenditure in 2022-23. Now, it has increased to 20 per cent,” he said. “The increase in the pension liability has led to a decrease in the capital expenditure from 29 per cent to 24 per cent. There’s little money left for development works like the construction of roads, buildings, etc,” he added.
Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh said that it would have been better had the Opposition given suggestions for the betterment of the state. He reiterated that the state had not received the Post Disaster Needs Assessment relief of around Rs 10,000 crore. “There should be no politics on this issue and everyone should come together in the interest of the state. Despite limited resources, the Budget has provided relief to every section of society,” he added.
Chopal MLA Balbir Verma accused the government of closing schools where students were studying and locking hospitals where patients were under treatment.
Rohru MLA Mohan Lal Brakta said that the Budget had taken care of every section of society. “The Opposition’s job is only to criticise the government. The hike in the rates of milk has benefited a lot of people,” he added.
