Himachal budget aimed at misguiding people: Jai Ram Thakur

Shimla: Senior BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday said the budget presented by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is an "attempt to misguide" the people of the state by "telling lies" and claimed it has provided no relief to any section of society.

Nothing has been done on 95 per cent of the schemes announced in the last budget and yet new schemes have been announced, Thakur said in a video as he was in New Delhi and not present in the Vidhan Sabha on Saturday.

"The people of the state have lost faith in the Congress government which failed to fulfil its poll guarantees promised in the 2022 assembly polls," said Thakur, the Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.

It is surprising that there is no mention of guarantees promised in the budget, he added.

The state government has taken a loan of Rs 14,000 crore in the past 14 months, he said, adding that just announcing a relief package is not enough until it reaches the victim and is implemented. "The truth is that relief has been given to only selected people".

Unemployed youths, outsourced staff and employees of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation and Electricity Board are sitting on dharna for the release of their salaries, while development has come to a standstill under the Congress government, he claimed.