Jai Ram slams govt for raising Rs 14K crore loan in 14 months

Shimla: Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur today lashed out at the state government for having created a record by raising Rs 14,000 crore loans in its 14 month rule with there being no achievements to list.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address, the former Chief Minister lamented that the Governor’s address had nothing to list as the performance of the government has been dismal. “The entire state was disappointed as in the one hour five minutes address by the Governor, not even a single achievement could be listed,” he said. “This was evident from the fact that not even once did the treasury benches thump their tables, which is proof of the poor performance of the government,” he added.

Thakur said the Congress regime had just been harping on the previous BJP regime’s work and failure of the Centre to extend financial help to Himachal. “If we made a mistake by raising loans then why are you repeating it? You must disclose where the loan amount is being utilized as all development works have come to a standstill,” he remarked.

“You came to power on false guarantees and promised to fulfil OPS which was an emotional issue with the employees. Now only 20 per cent of the last drawn pay will be given as pension,” he claimed.

Intervening in the debate, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said that 4,500 employees were getting OPS in Himachal as promised. “No cut has been made in pension and the BJP is trying to mislead the people. If you are making such claims, please provide documents supporting your claims,” Sukhu dared Thakur.

He also targeted the Congress for failing to fulfil the 10 guarantees made to the people before the 2022 Assembly poll, including Rs 1,500 to women and providing one lakh jobs to youth. “You ordered the closure of 1,000 institutions, opened by our regime,” he said.

Initiating the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address, Jwalamukhi MLA Sanjay Rattan said under the Vyavastha Parivartan, the Congress government headed by Chief Minister had ensured all round development of the state. Lahaul Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur lauded the restoration and rescue work done during the monsoons.