‘Step towards financial emergency’: Thakur slams Sukhu govt over move to defer salaries of govt employees

“I am very clear that this government is not in the position to give salaries and pensions to the government employees. It will not be wrong to say that this government is creating problems for the upcoming governments. It is evident that Congress will never come to power in the Centre or in this state.”

Thakur also claimed that never in the history of Himachal Vidhan Sabha a Budget speech was deferred, but this time the speech — which was around 4 hours 19 minutes long — was deferred for at least three times.

The former CM said the Budget has consistently failed to meet public expectations or accelerate development. He accused the government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of steadily increasing the revenue deficit while reducing capital expenditure.

Thakur pointed out that while the main Budget for 2025–26 stood at Rs 58,514 crore, the 2026–27 budget has been reduced to Rs 54,928 crore — a decrease of Rs 3,586 crore, or 6.13 per cent.

“Budgets are meant to show the way forward, but this one takes the state backward,” he remarked, adding that it is nearly equivalent to the government’s first budget of Rs 53,412 crore.

“The fiscal deficit has risen sharply over recent years — from Rs 10,300 crore in 2023–24 to Rs 10,337 crore, Rs 12,414 crore, and Rs 9,896 crore in subsequent years — while capital investment has declined from Rs 6,781 crore to Rs 6,239 crore, Rs 3,941 crore, and Rs 3,089 crore. This clearly indicates that development has come to a standstill,” the LoP said.

He also highlighted disparities between Budget allocations and actual expenditure in various welfare schemes. Thakur alleged that only about 10 per cent of the allocated funds under the ‘Kanyadaan’ scheme were spent, while the ‘Shagun’ scheme saw just 17 per cent utilisation and the ‘Mahila Samman Nidhi’ only 3.7 per cent during three quarters of the financial year. Similarly, he said the organic farming initiative remained largely promotional, with procurement worth only Rs 2.69 crore from 1,643 farmers — amounting to less than Rs 14,000 per farmer.

BJP protests against entry tax hike

The Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly witnessed sharp protests by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the recent hike in entry tax, both inside and outside the House. Led by Thakur, BJP MLAs staged a strong demonstration, accusing the government of imposing an additional financial burden on the general public and the business community. The Opposition demanded immediate rollback of the tax hike.

Raising slogans during the protest, BJP legislators warned that the increased entry tax would not only impact the transport sector but also lead to higher prices of essential commodities. Thakur argued that the additional tax on commercial vehicles would directly increase freight and transportation costs, which would ultimately be passed on to consumers.

Terming the policy “anti-people,” the Opposition cautioned that the move could strain trade relations with neighbouring states. Referring to Punjab, Thakur said that if Himachal increases taxes at its borders, other states could retaliate by imposing higher taxes on vehicles from Himachal, adversely affecting inter-state trade and causing losses to local transporters.

The BJP legislature party warned that if the decision is not withdrawn before the Budget speech, it would intensify its agitation both inside the Assembly and on the streets.