Shimla, Sept. 23 -- Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national spokesperson Gopal Agarwal on Monday lashed out at the state government for "misleading" the people on the help provided by the central government. "It is owing to the fiscal mismanagement of the state that they are unable to even pay salaries. To cover up their failures, the state government is creating a false narrative of discrimination in terms of grants to the state", said Agarwal while speaking to HT. Citing grants-in-aid, he said that Himachal Pradesh received Rs.14,942 crore from the Centre in 2023 and 2024. "If the Himachal government and Congress leaders are still complaining about lack of funds, then they should come up with answers. The Central government stands shoulder to shoulder with the state government," he said. He stated, "Himachal Pradesh is spending 39% on salaries, 23% on pensions and 15% on interest. Blaming the central government alone will not change the truth." Regarding the GST reforms, he said it would accelerate India's growing economy. Hitting back at the BJP spokesperson, Naresh Chauhan, principal media adviser to chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said, "The GST share which the state gets is our right and not any favour from the central government. The state is suffering losses but the BJP government at the Centre has failed to pay any special grant. They should extend a special package to the disaster-hit state."...