Himachal Pradesh CM Accuses Centre of Injustice Towards Non-BJP States

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has accused the Central government of unfairly distributing disaster relief funds in the Union Budget 2024-25, favoring BJP-ruled states. He criticized the allocation methods, highlighting the lack of direct financial assistance to Himachal Pradesh despite severe flood damages.

In a strong statement on Thursday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the Central government of blatant favoritism towards BJP-ruled states in the distribution of disaster relief funds. During a media interaction, Sukhu pointed out discrimination in the Union Budget 2024-25.

Sukhu highlighted that while states like Uttarakhand and Assam received direct assistance for flood relief, Himachal Pradesh was only promised multilateral development assistance. This, despite Himachal suffering major flood damages last year, for which the state had requested Rs 9,042 crore in financial aid following a central team's post-disaster assessment.

Adding to the political tension, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri echoed Sukhu's allegations and accused former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur of obstructing the release of funds by engaging in politics during his visits to Delhi.