Nadda should ‘stop lying’; help clear 23k-cr HP dues, say ministers

Kullu: Days after JP Nadda lashed out at the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led state govt over the “financial aid”, Himachal Pradesh ministers Dhani Ram Shandil and Rajesh Dharmani said on Sunday the Union minister should “stop lying and instead fulfill his duty as a Himachali”.Health minister Shandil and technical education minister Dharmani also urged the BJP chief to help clear dues that the Centre owes to the state amounting to over Rs 23,000 crore under different heads.In a joint statement, the ministers said that Nadda should refrain from “misleading” the people of Himachal Pradesh, as “there has not been a single allegation of corruption” against the present Congress govt during its 20-month tenure.On Friday, Nadda had said in his hometown Bilaspur that if the Centre stops sending financial aid, the state govt would not last for a day. He accused the state govt of not disbursing salaries to the employees on the first day of the month despite central funds/grants. Responding to the accusations, the ministers said although Nadda represents Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha, “Himachal Pradesh is his homeland” and as such, he should use his position to champion the state’s cause at the central level.Shandil and Dharmani pointed out that last year, the Congress-led govt in the state rehabilitated disaster-affected families with a special financial package of Rs 4,500 crore from its own resources. However, financial claims amounting to Rs 10,000 crore are still pending with the central govt. They urged the Union minister to “play an active role” in facilitating the release of these funds, along with Rs 9,200 crore stuck with the central govt under the National Pension Scheme and Rs 4,500 crore in arrears from Bhakra Beas Management Board.Slamming the Union minister for presenting “misleading figures” to the people of Himachal Pradesh, the ministers said the state has not received “even a single penny or any other special assistance” as disaster relief. The ministers clarified that the funds provided by the Centre are part of the routine annual financial allotments to all states under the federal structure and are not exclusive to disaster relief. “Himachal Pradesh would have received these funds even in the absence of any disaster. The state govt, they asserted, is ready to furnish a detailed account of every rupee received from the central govt whenever Nadda will ask for it,” they said.

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