Shimla, Sep 5 (PTI) The BJP walked out of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday following a heated exchange between Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur over a resolution urging the Centre to provide 100 per cent disaster relief to the state.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called the opposition BJP’s conduct “irresponsible” and said it was clear that the saffron party was anti-Himachal Pradesh and its sole agenda was to derive political mileage.
Thakur, a former chief minister, and Negi got into an argument when the minister rose to provide clarification during a discussion on the government’s resolution urging the Centre to provide 100 per cent disaster relief to the state, similar to that for disaster-hit Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Assam.
As Negi tried to offer his inputs, members from both sides started speaking from their seats and the BJP later staged a walkout.
Reacting to the walkout, Sukhu said financial aid from the National Disaster Response Fund and the State Disaster Response Fund were not doles but a state’s right, according to recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.
The chief minister said he would soon meet the Union finance minister and demand grants under the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Framework and added that the state would not remain a silent spectator like the BJP but fight for its rights.
Condemning the walkout, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said the BJP had become “directionless” and accused the Centre of discrimination towards Himachal Pradesh.
The central government has not refunded Rs 9,200 crore on account of employees’ contribution under the National Pension Scheme, reduced the revenue deficit grant, and lowered the borrowing limit with the intention to financially destabilise the state, he alleged.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan alleged that the previous BJP dispensation did not press the Centre for the interest of Himachal Pradesh.
He claimed that the financial crisis that the state was passing through was inherited from the previous BJP government.
He also moved a motion condemning the walkout that was adopted by voice vote.
The House adopted a resolution seeking from the Centre 100 per cent compensation for disasters, along the lines of Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Assam, moved by the chief minister on Wednesday. PTI BPL SZM
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