Shimla, Feb. 25 -- In a scathing attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the saffron party of politicising the revenue deficit grant (RDG) issue. Referring to the fiscal challenge being faced by the state in wake of the decision to discontinue RDG, the CM said, "The previous government led by former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had received the highest RDG. Despite this, thestate's debt burden was not reduced. Instead, loans amounting to Rs.47,000 crore weretaken and liabilities worth thousands of crores were left behind." "The Finance Commission has only noted it in its report. The Centre can provide RDG depending on the prevailing circumstances," he said. The chief minister, who on Tuesday returned from Delhi, said he had held detailed discussions on the matter with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi during his recent visit to Delhi. "Comparing Himachal with Kerala on the RDG issue was inappropriate, as RDG is granted under constitutional provisions to compensate for revenue deficits and does not adversely affect Kerala," he said. Appealing to the BJP for cooperation on the issue, Sukhu said, "The opposition did not appear willing to extend support". Commenting on the possibility of a protest at Jantar Mantar, he described it as part of a political strategy and said a decision would be taken after due deliberation. Hitting out at Congress, former CM and leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that entire cabinet and the chief minister visited Delhi to address Himachal's economic situation, but surprisingly, no one met with the PM or the Union finance minister. "The entire Congress cabinet remained busy meeting with their respective leaders and trying to fit their political equations. If Himachal receives any help, it will come from the central government, the PM, the FM, not from Congress leaders. Yet, no one has bothered to even meet them."...