Shimla, Feb. 5 -- Launching a sharp attack on BJP MPs and MLAs for defending the Centre's decision to scrap the Special Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) for Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the move strikes at the very core of fiscal federalism and disproportionately hurts a small hill state.
Reacting to statements by BJP Members of Parliament and opposition MLAs on the union Budget, Sukhu said on Thursday that Himachal's fiscal stress cannot be equated with that of revenue-surplus states, as BJP leaders have attempted to justify the withdrawal of RDG.
He stressed that Himachal has a structurally weak tax base, limited industrial presence, difficult topography and high expenditure commitments on infrastructure, road...