Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said the BJP should clarify its stand on the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG).
Talking to mediapersons here, Sukhu asked the BJP whether it would fight for the rights of the people of the state and take up the issue of restoration of RDG with the Prime Minister. “The government will fight it out and we are ready to go with them if they have reservations about coming with us. The four BJP MPs and three Rajya Sabha MPs should also take up with the Central BJP government that Himachal needs RDG, as it is a small state with limited resources. The state’s exchequer has been deprived of Rs 10,000 crore to fill the gap between income and expenditure in the annual budget,” Sukhu said.
He took strong objection to former Union Minister and BJP MP from Hamirpur, Anurag Thakur’s statement that the Finance Commission had earlier mentioned the discontinuation of RDG.
“I have personally met the Finance Commission members and the Union Finance Minister to convey that the RDG should not be a tapering grant over five years, and they noted it. They never said it was being stopped,” he said.
He said the previous BJP government got more than Rs 50,000 crore in five years as RDG, whereas the present government received Rs 17,000 crore in three years. He said it was a question of the rights of the people of Himachal Pradesh.
“Why is the BJP trying to skirt the issue and why are BJP MLAs confused? We are just saying that these three days are a special session on the most important issue, which is happening for the first time. Then why are they bent on discussing the Governor’s address first? We just want the BJP Legislative Party to discuss the issue and say that they are ready to join the government in demanding Himachal’s right in the form of RDG from the Prime Minister. Why are they not interested in it? We don’t know,” Sukhu said.
It may be mentioned that the CM is of the opinion that the issue should be taken up with the Centre for restoration of RDG before the Budget proposals for 2026–27 are presented. The Congress government’s agenda to present a people-friendly Budget in its fourth year has suffered a jolt after an unexpected cut in RDG by the 16th Finance Commission. It has also raised questions about the government’s claims of making Himachal self-reliant by 2027 and the richest state by 2032.
Also read: HP Guv ends address in 2 minutes, skips RDG remarks
Follow us
