Fiscal Failure In Another Congress State? Himachal Pradesh CM, Cabinet Ministers Defer Salaries Due To Financial Crisis

Himachal Pradesh is turning out to be another state proving the Congress government's fiscal failure as Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced postponing his salary, allowances and other benefits for the next two months citing financial crisis.

A similar crisis has been witnessed in another Congress-ruled state Karnataka where water and electricity tariffs are being used to fund the government's guarantees while Deputy CM D K Shivakumar earlier said that there is no fund for development.

While Sukhu's cabinet colleagues, chief parliamentary secretaries, and board chairmen, would also be following suit, the Himachal CM even urged all members of the legislative assembly (MLA) to voluntarily delay their salaries and allowances temporarily.

The appeal did not go down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs as they staged a walkout under the leadership of former CM and Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur and accused Sukhu of being involved in a scam within the excise department.

This protest occurred after Sukhu responded that revenue from the 2024-25 excise policy was significantly higher than the total revenue generated during the BJP’s five-year rule. The Congress holds 40 seats in the 68-member House, while the BJP has 28.

Thakur alleged, "The entire excise policy was formulated only for the benefit of big players in the industry. Bidding for a number of liquor vends was canceled and later allotted by the state government to its favourite liquor contractors."