Centre discriminating against Cong-ruled Himachal Pradesh, allege state ministers

Shimla: The Centre is continuously discriminating against Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh and despite several state ministers highlighting people's issues in repeated meetings with Union ministers, nothing has been done, Cabinet ministers in the Sukhvinder Sukhu government alleged on Wednesday. Himachal Pradesh Industry Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan and Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, in a joint statement, alleged that the Centre, unhappy with the Congress government's decision to implement the old pension scheme (OPS), has imposed several financial restrictions on the state on the advice of its state unit leaders.

"The Center made a huge cut in the loan limit of Himachal Pradesh to pressure our government to roll back OPS. Rs 9,000 crore of the state under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) is lying with the Center and our government has repeatedly requested the Centre to return our rightful share," the statement said.

The two ministers alleged that the top leadership of the state had met the central leaders several times over the OPS issue and demanded that Rs 9,000 crore be returned in the interest of the employees and the state but no positive response has been received so far.


The statement added that instead of returning the NPS deposits, the Central government is continuously sending letters to the state to bring the employees back under the purview of the NPS or Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).

In 2023, an unprecedented natural disaster struck Himachal Pradesh but the Union government did not provide any help for relief and rehabilitation works in the state, the two ministers alleged.

"The Center has not only denied the status of a special state but has also snatched away the rights of Himachal Pradesh. Conspiracies are being hatched deliberately to stop the development of Himachal Pradesh, in which the big leaders of the state BJP are playing a key role," the statement further alleged.