Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Thursday, 9 July charged that had the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) been in power in the state, it would have compromised Himachal Pradesh's interests in the Kishau dam project, accepting a previous agreement that he said would have inflicted a heavy loss on the state exchequer.

The Kishau Dam Agreement

Sukhu said the Congress government rejected the 2023 deal on the Kishau dam project and renegotiated terms that he described as a major victory for the state's economic interests. Under the revised agreement, Himachal Pradesh stands to earn an additional ₹600 crore in annual revenue — a figure the Chief Minister attributed directly to the state government's decision to push back against the earlier terms.

Centre's Neglect and Pending Relief

Sukhu also trained his guns on the Centre, alleging that it has been neglecting the hill state's interests at the cost of the common citizen. He pointed out that Himachal Pradesh is still awaiting ₹1,500 crore in disaster relief funds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced during his Kangra visit in 2025. The Chief Minister said the state's four BJP Members of Parliament had not collectively approached the Prime Minister to press for this pending disbursement.

This comes amid a ₹10,000 crore per year cut in the state's Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) — a fiscal squeeze that Sukhu said has not deterred the government from pursuing its self-reliance agenda.

Disaster Relief and Welfare Measures

Referring to recurring natural calamities in the state, Sukhu highlighted that the government had raised compensation for fully damaged homes from ₹1.3 lakh to ₹8 lakh using its own resources — which he described as the highest disaster relief payout in the country. He added that welfare schemes have been rolled out for orphaned children, widows, single women, and meritorious students, framing these as proof of the Congress government's 'Vyavastha Parivartan' (systemic change) promise.

Sukhu also disclosed that he had personally donated ₹51 lakh to disaster-affected families, and had earlier contributed ₹35 lakh to the state during the Covid-19 pandemic when Jai Ram Thakur was Chief Minister.

Political Allegations Against BJP

Responding to a question at a public function in Shimla, Sukhu alleged that the BJP deploys the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for political purposes ahead of elections. He further claimed that the BJP is internally fractured into rival factions competing for power, and that public confidence in the party has eroded in Himachal Pradesh.

Sukhu maintained that no allegations have been levelled against his Cabinet in the past three-and-a-half years, contrasting this with what he described as the BJP's record in the state. With assembly elections on the horizon, the political temperature in Himachal Pradesh is set to rise further.