Cong slams HP govt for mounting debt

Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh assembly Mukesh Agnihotri on Wednesday slammed the state government for mounting debt while terming the Budget directionless.

Beginning the discussion on the Rs 49,131 crore state Budget for 2020-21, he said Jai Ram Thakur will be remembered as the Himachal Pradesh chief minister who has taken the highest loan.

Agnihotri said the current government has already taken a loan of Rs 10,000 crore in its tenure of over two years.

So much so, Thakur got a Rs 1,160-crore loan just a day before presenting the Budget in the assembly, he added.

He also accused the chief minister of committed a fraud on the House by "hiding facts" about it in the Budget tabled on Friday.

"If it continues like this, the state will have a debt burden of over Rs 75,000 crore when Thakur's tenure will end in 2022," he added.

He also flayed the Thakur government for a reduction in the state's growth rate from 7.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent, saying this was the lowest rate in the past 20 years.

The debt has increased while growth reduced, he said, adding that the "Budget was directionless".

Agnihotri said Rs 150 crore was deposited by Kangra Central Cooperative Bank in Yes Bank, which recently collapsed.

Similarly, Rs 179 crore meant for a Smart City project was deposited in Yes Bank, he said, asking at whose behest this was done.

"Did other national banks not exist in the state and which influential person in Himachal promoted Yes Bank," he asked, seeking a reply from the CM.

Intervening, the CM replied that the UPA-I had given licence to Yes Bank in 2004 and the state government started depositing money in it during the Congress rule.

It is being ensured by the Centre and the RBI that money will not be allowed to sink, he added.

At this, Agnihotri said Yes Bank had been facing a crisis for the past one year.

Why the state government institutions did not make any effort to withdraw the amount from Yes Bank, he asked.

BJP legislators Rakesh Pathania, Rajinder Garg, Balbir Singh and Balbir Verma and Congress MLAs Lakhwinder Rana and Rajinder Rana also participated in the discussion.