SHIMLA: BJP MLA Anil Sharma on Tuesday said the BJP and the Congress got into a race to announce freebies ahead of the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls taking a cue from the AAP, and added that mere establishment of new institutions does not guarantee poll victory.
”No institution was opened in my assembly constituency, but I still won the polls,” the MLA from Mandi (Sadar) said during a discussion on the budget.
The opening of institutions does not guarantee victory in elections and if it was otherwise, no ruling party would have lost elections.
He said that inspired by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a race to announce freebies started ahead of the assembly polls last year. The BJP promised 125 units of free electricity to voters and the Congress promised 300 units, he said, adding that now these 300 free units will cost the state government Rs 1,600 crore.
”We were hoping that the budget would be better in terms of finance but it is not so and therefore I cannot support the budget, he said.
Joining the budget debate, Sunder Singh Thakur of the Congress said the budget shows the vision of the state government, which has implemented its first promise of restoration of the old pension scheme benefitting about 1.36 lakh employees.
Neeraj Nayyar of the Congress said the budget reflects a new thinking in which small things have also been considered.
Participating in the discussion, BJP MLA Hans Raj accused the state government of discriminating against Chamba and Kangra districts and termed Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu an accidental chief minister.
He also demanded that the MLA local area fund be increased to Rs 3 crore and special treatment be given to his assembly segment Churah in Chamba due to its harsh topography.
Former minister and Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma said that the welfare of all sections of society has been taken into consideration in the budget with the aim to make Himachal Pradesh a green state. Randhir Sharma of the BJP said that in a bid to become a hero, the chief minister has turned into a villain with the closure of hundreds of facilities — schools, health centres, and revenue and PWD offices.
He said that the Congress government has failed to expand the cabinet even after 100 days in office.
Source: Press Trust of India
