Jai Ram Thakur, in his maiden budget, has proposed no new taxes but rolled out 28 new schemes focussed mostly on improving rural economy, attracting investments and creating avenues of self-employment through a regime of incentives.
A verbal duel on Wednesday between five-time Congress MLA Harshvardhan Chauhan and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur over loans raised by the Congress government marred the debate on the Budget, which was presented in the House last week by the Chief Minister.
Chauhan, while justifying the loans taken by the previous Congress government, said this was done in a lawful manner to meet the state’s need for development and that there had not been any objection raised to it by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG ) so far. The BJP should stop making noise over it, he said.
Thakur responded saying the loans that the BJP government had raised after coming to power were also for development and so the Opposition Congress should not rake up the issue to target the government. Praising former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a real wellwisher of the state who gave Himachal financial packages every time he visited the state, Chauhan said PM Narendra Modi has “sadly disappointed the people of Himachal Pradesh by not giving a single penny to bail out the state which is currently facing a financial crisis and heavy debt”.