4 min readShimlaFeb 17, 2026 10:24 PM IST
Defending his decision to convene a three-day Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday that he called the special session to pass a resolution on the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) and sent it to the Union government in a time-bound manner.
Addressing the House, Sukhu, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said the 16th Finance Commission report, tabled in the Lok Sabha on February 1, would be taken up for passage in Parliament on March 17, making it imperative for the state to formally record its position. “The session was convened so that Himachal Pradesh can pass a resolution on RDG in time and send it to the Centre,” he said. “I will clear the state’s position on the RDG in the House tomorrow (Wednesday).”
The chief minister was responding to BJP MLA Bikram Singh Thakur, who accused the Congress government of “financial mismanagement” and questioned the timing of the session when the state Budget was not being presented.
The Sukhu government had sought an exclusive one-day special session to deliberate on the RDG matter, but the Governor declined the proposal. This prompted the Congress government to incorporate the debate within the Budget Session instead. The Budget session has been notified for only three days, an unusually short duration, with no date announced for the presentation of the state budget.
Taking a swipe at Sukhu, Thakur said the chief minister took a helicopter to visit Chandigarh, even as he could have travelled by road.
Hitting back, Sukhu said, “I am a man who has spent most of his life on the roads.”
Denying allegations of fiscal mismanagement, Sukhu, even the Union finance minister, appreciated the state government’s efforts to strengthen the economy.
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Meanwhile, discussion/debate on the RDG issue under Rule 102 continued, as the House proceedings were extended till 8 pm on Tuesday.
Participating in the debate, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the reduction in the GST compensation cess for Himachal Pradesh should also be discussed alongside the RDG, as it had placed additional strain on the state’s finances.
Town and Country Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani said RDG should not be discontinued abruptly, but phased out gradually to make hill states financially self-reliant.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “minimum government, maximum governance” remark, Dharmani advocated better infrastructure and fiscal discipline to reduce expenditure. Dharmani also urged the chief minister to “issue a white paper on loans raised by the state during the Congress regime and during the regime of the BJP and their utilisation”.
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Dharmani said, “If BJP MLAs don’t want to become a part of our resolution, they are free to move their own resolution.”
Congress MLA Bhawani Singh Pathania said RDG had its origins in the tenure of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, but was now being withdrawn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He alleged the move was part of a “revenge policy,” and raised concerns over apple imports under the India-US trade framework, warning of adverse impact on Himachal’s orchard economy.
Pathania also referred to rising costs in state guest houses and broader fiscal pressures. BJP MLA Prakash Rana questioned the rationale behind convening a special session solely on the RDG issue without budget business, while Congress MLA Sunder Singh Thakur accused the Opposition of remaining “indifferent to the state’s financial concerns, intensifying the political divide in the House”.
