The main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday walked out of an all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to build consensus on ways to deal with the proposed withdrawal of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) by the 16th Finance Commission, accusing the Congress-led state government of “doing propaganda” on the pretext of holding a meeting.
Criticising Opposition leaders for leaving the meeting “without submitting any suggestions”, Sukhu noted that BJP leaders were in a “tight position knowing well the discontinuation of RDG is not good for the state, but unwilling to speak against the Centre”.
BJP state president Rajeev Bindal, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and party MLAs, including Vinod Kumar, Trilok Jamwal, Randhir Sharma and media coordinator Karan Nanda, among others, walked out of the meeting, accusing Congress leaders present at the meeting of using “objectionable language” against certain senior central government ministers and accusing the Centre of “financial mismanagement”.
Addressing the media, Bindal said, “The Congress government has been in power for nearly 40 months. Despite enjoying a full majority, they are shifting blame for their financial failures on the Centre and the BJP as part of a planned political narrative.”
Bindal said the RDG discontinuation was not a sudden decision, and had clearly been recommended by the 14th and the 15th Finance Commissions that the grant would be reduced in phases and eventually discontinued. “Thus, projecting it as a sudden financial crisis is misleading. The state government should have worked in time on alternative resource generation, expenditure control, and revenue enhancement,” Bindal said.”
The LoP said, “The BJP is willing to participate in all constructive discussions, but one-sided blame, misleading presentation and politically-driven narratives will not help resolve real issues.”
Addressing the media, Sukhu said Congress leaders urged Opposition leaders to present their views first, but they insisted that representatives of other parties should speak first and left without submitting any suggestions. “I personally invited Jai Ram Thakur to speak, but he said the BJP would make its position known in the Assembly.”
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Opposition leaders, however, said that they presented a “factual and detailed position, keeping the larger interest of the state in view”.
Sukhu said, “We are of the view that the all-party meet should be held in the media presence, but BJP leaders said the media should not be present in the meeting. They were scared of getting exposed.”
“First, the meeting was scheduled to be held at the Shimla Secretariat, but BJP leaders insisted us to shift the venue, so we shifted to Peterhof Hotel. An all-party meeting was called on the insistence of the BJP. Bindal raised issues related to infrastructure projects such as flyovers and four-lane roads, following which Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan intervened and requested him to confine his remarks to the RDG issue,” Sukhu said.
Representatives of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and senior Congress leaders, including Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan and Congress MLA and AICC spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Rathore, among others, attended the meeting.
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Sukhu asked, “My simple question to the BJP leaders is whether they are ready to join us in demanding the restoration of the RDG from the Centre or not? The Opposition’s attitude was not in the state’s interest.”
Sukhu said, The state is not facing an immediate financial crisis, but fiscal stress can arise in the 2026-27 financial year, for which the government is preparing.”
Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Rathore said the focus of the meeting was to deliberate on ways to address the emerging financial situation and to build consensus to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand the RDG restoration. He accused the BJP of “behaving irresponsibly by turning the meeting into a political exercise and merely blaming the state government”.
Former CPI (M) MLA Rakesh Singha said everyone must understand the hardships being faced by the people of the state and emphasised the need to arrive at a consensus to effectively safeguard their interests.
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AAP representative Dr Rajesh Chanana stressed the need for adequate financial assistance from the Centre, stating the state has limited resources of its own. He also submitted a party resolution supporting reinstating the RDG.
A BSP representative said the state must collectively raise its voice for its rights.
