Rs 421 crore approved for BJP MLA constituencies in 2 years: Sukhu
Continuing his attack on the BJP for skipping the MLA Priority Meeting for the 2025-26 state budget, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today claimed that half of the BJP MLAs wanted to attend the meeting but could not do so due to the stubbornness of Jai Ram Thakur, Leader of Opposition. “Fifty per cent of the BJP MLAs told me that they wanted to attend the meeting but had to boycott because of the stubborn attitude of Jai Ram Thakur,” said the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister said that Rs 421 crore had been approved through NABARD for the Assembly constituencies of the BJP MLAs in over the last two years.
Meanwhile, the BJP stuck to its stand that they boycotted the meeting because their priority projects were not being considered and DPRs were not being prepared. In a press conference here today, BJP’s chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma alleged the projects submitted by the BJP MLAs in MLA priority schemes had not received funding from NABARD in the last two years.
“The schemes mentioned by the Chief Minister and the amount disbursed for these is not true. Either the DPR of the projects has not been made or the DPR is with the Planning Department. And, in case any, if the DPR has reached NABARD, funds have not been allotted,” claimed Sharma.
Meanwhile, the government dismissed the BJP’s allegation that DPRs for opposition MLAs had not been prepared for the past two years as baseless and lacking factual accuracy. A government spokesperson said that over the last two years, from January 1, 2023, to February 3, 2025, the government has submitted 210 DPRs for various projects worth Rs 1,863 crore, covering all 28 BJP MLAs, to NABARD for approval.
“Of these, 62 DPRs, amounting to Rs 421 crore across the 28 Assembly constituencies, have already been approved,” said the spokesperson. He further said that during this period, most opposition MLAs had fully availed this funding, and reached the maximum limit set for their respective constituencies.
Sukhu further said that BJP MLAs should have come and raised the concerns of their constituencies. “And if something wasn’t correct, I would have immediately checked with the officials,” he said, adding that the BJP has boycotted the meeting due to internal strife in the party.