Shimla, Feb. 8 -- Mounting a strong all-party appeal against the scrapping of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), the Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday said it would challenge the decision both politically and legally, warning that the move threatens the state's financial backbone and can be resolved only through political intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Following a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also holds the Finance portfolio, the state government made a detailed presentation on Himachal Pradesh's financial position before MLAs, senior officers and the media. The opposition BJP, however, skipped the presentation, a move the government described as "unfortunate" amid a deepening fis...