Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, February 24
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has criticised what he described as a “midnight raid” by Delhi Police at Himachal Sadan, calling it unconstitutional and procedurally flawed. Talking to media after returning from Delhi, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister also renewed his attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue of Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), accusing the previous government of increasing the state’s debt burden despite receiving substantial financial support from the Centre. Sukhu said the former administration led by Jairamam Thakur had received the highest RDG allocations, but failed to reduce loans and liabilities. Instead, he alleged, the state was left with debts amounting to tens of thousands of crores of rupees.
He clarified that RDG had neither been accepted nor rejected by the Finance Commission, but had been “noted” in its report, leaving scope for the central government to decide on grants depending on circumstances.
The Chief Minister said he had discussed the matter in detail with Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. Comparing Himachal Pradesh with Kerala on the RDG issue was not appropriate, he argued, as the grant was provided under constitutional provisions to offset revenue deficits.
Sukhu appealed to the BJP for cooperation, but said the party appeared to be politicising the matter. He also said a proposed protest at Jantar Mantar over RDG would be decided after consultations, describing such demonstrations as part of political strategy.
On the controversy at Himachal Sadan, Sukhu said rooms had been booked by Youth Congress workers in the usual manner and payments had been made. He maintained that the police should have informed the Resident Commissioner before taking action.
The Chief Minister also supported Youth Congress workers who staged protests during the AI Impact Summit and criticised the arrest of state Youth Congress president Uday Bhan, saying he should have been released after being counselled. On the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, Sukhu said it was too early to announce a candidate. The decision, he added, would be taken by the party high command, with the final choice made by the Congress leadership.
