The Hindu : BJP stages walkout on loan figures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 27, 2003

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Other States - Himachal Pradesh

BJP stages walkout on loan figures

Shimla March 26. The opposition BJP today staged a walkout in Himachal Pradesh Assembly accusing the Virbhadra Singh government of ``misleading people'' by ``concealing'' facts on the state's loan liabilities to show the earlier BJP-led government in poor light.

The provocation came when the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh gave the figures of loan as on March 31, 1998 without adding the loan guarantees given by the government but added the loan guarantees in respect of the loan liabilities of the state as on March 1, 2003.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and other BJP members demanded that the details of guarantees given by the government for the loans raised by the corporations should also be revealed.

When the Chief Minister did not give the specific information about the loan guarantees, the BJP legislators staged a walkout during the question hour.

Replying to a question the Chief Minister had said that the loan liability of the state government stood at Rs 49966 crores on March 31, 1998 and at Rs 12,366 crores on March 1, 2003.

He said that the loan liabilities stood at Rs 15,425 crores on March 1, 2003 if the loan guarantees given by the government were also accounted for.

Talking to mediapersons, Dhumal said the Virbhadra government was giving inflated loan figures to show the earlier BJP-led government in poor light.

``It was deliberate attempt to mislead the people and not only the loan liabilities and loan guarantees were being manipulated, but also the rate of interest paid by the government was being confused as cover up,'' Dhumal said.

Dhumal claimed the Congress government took loans at high rate of interest up to 22 per cent but gave the average figure of interest ranging from 4.75 per cent to 18.26 per cent giving an impression that the BJP government also raised loans at 18.26 per cent interest rate while the maximum interest rate paid by the BJP government was 14 per cent.

He alleged that the Congress government even misled the governor on the issue of loans and said that after repeatedly claiming that the loan liability was Rs 15,000 crores, to subsequently project the loan liabilities at a higher level was only a cover up.

The BJP members returned to the house after the question hour and participated in the proceedings.

The house also passed the supplementary demands for grant for 2002-03 amounting Rs 491.28 crores and also adopted the related appropriation bill. The house also passed vote on account for first four months of 2003-04 authorising the government to spend Rs 2215.09 crores from the consolidated fund. -- PTI

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BJP stages walkout on loan figures