Congress, BJP engage in blame game over mounting debt liabilities in Himachal

Shimla, Jan 29 (PTI) The Congress and BJP got into a war of words over whose government was responsible for Himachal Pradesh's liabilities, with the saffron party alleging that the accumulation of loans began under Virbhadra Singh, a Congress chief minister.

The BJP was reacting to Congress minister Rajesh Dharmani's allegation that the current government took loans of over Rs 30,080 crore, out if which 63 per cent was spent on repayment of loans and liabilities left by the previous BJP government.

Himachal Pradesh BJP general secretary and MLA Vinod Kumar on Wednesday said the allegations made by the cabinet minister are "totally false and contrary to facts".

"The first ever government that raised loan was the Congress government headed by Virbhadra Singh," Vinod Kumar said in a statement issued here.

Former BJP chief minister Shanta Kumar had made the state "debt-free" and had vowed to accelerate the pace of development without taking loans, he said.

Later, the BJP government headed by Prem Kumar Dhumal raised loans worth Rs 7,466 crore between 2007 and 2012. During that period, employees' salaries were doubled, he said.

But the Virbhadra Singh government raised loans amounting Rs 22,947 crore between 2012-17 and left a liability of Rs 47,966 crore, he said in his statement.

Even the government headed by BJP's Jai Ram Thakur, which had to deal with the Covid pandemic, only raised loans amounting Rs 18,000 crore, the MLA added.

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Dharmani said the Congress government took loans amonting 30,080 crore during the past two years, out of which Rs 18,854 crore were spent on repayment of loans and interest and Rs 9,337 crore on meeting liabilities left by the BJP government.

The minister targeted the BJP for tarnishing the image of the state by accusing the state government of distributing sops.

He said, in fact, it was the BJP government which promised free water and electricity on the eve of assembly polls but still lost.

The Congress government, instead, has generated additional revenue of Rs 2,631 crore and spent money on welfare schemes, he said. PTI BPL SKY SKY