Shimla, March 21 (NationPress) Ex-Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh and current Leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, criticized the state’s Budget on Saturday, labeling it as “the most disappointing and directionless in the state’s history,” asserting it provides absolutely nothing for the populace.

He remarked that the Budget has continuously failed to meet the citizens' expectations, highlighting that the fiscal deficit for 2023-24 reached Rs 10,300 crore, followed by Rs 10,337 crore, Rs 12,414 crore, and Rs 9,896 crore in subsequent years.

Thakur pointed out that during this period, capital investment has reduced significantly to Rs 6,781 crore, Rs 6,239 crore, Rs 3,941 crore, and Rs 3,089 crore.

“In essence, development has ground to a halt,” he stated.

The primary Budget for 2025-26 is pegged at Rs 58,514 crore, while the current fiscal year's Budget is Rs 54,928 crore, showing a decrease of Rs 3,586 crore from the previous year.

According to Thakur, this indicates a 6.13 percent decline.

“While budget forecasts globally aim to pave the way for the future, this Budget from the Sukhu administration has turned into a document that drags the state backwards,” he added.

He mentioned that the current Budget is nearly identical to the Sukhu government's inaugural Budget of Rs 53,412 crore.

“This government’s financial management is now clearly exposed,” he claimed, accusing the administration of prioritizing salary cuts for employees.

Thakur criticized the government for proclaiming slogans of vyavastha parivartan (systemic change) while leading the state’s economy into a more precarious situation.

He warned that announcements made by the Chief Minister during the Budget speech, like previous ones, would likely either gather dust or act merely as election promises.

He highlighted inconsistencies in budget estimates, as revealed in the supplementary Budget, noting that less than 10 percent of the funds allocated to the Kanyadan Yojana were utilized.

Moreover, only 17 percent of the Shagun Yojana funds and a mere 3.7 percent of the Mahila Samman Nidhi allocation were spent in the first three quarters of the financial year.

Additionally, the organic farming initiative remained largely promotional, with the government buying only Rs 2.69 crore worth of produce from 1,643 farmers.

Beneficiaries did not receive Rs 14,000 per farmer, despite hundreds of crores being allocated to these schemes.

As the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu prepared to present the Budget in the Assembly, BJP lawmakers organized a substantial protest both inside and outside the House against government policies, particularly criticizing the recent increase in entry tax.

Led by Jai Ram Thakur, the Opposition accused the government of imposing an additional burden on the public and the business sector and demanded an immediate repeal of the tax hike.

Legislators chanted slogans, asserting that this steep increase would have detrimental effects on the transport sector and trigger inflation, directly impacting household budgets.