Shimla witnessed a sharp escalation in political tension as the Bharatiya Janata Party Legislature Party, led by former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, formally approached Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla with a detailed memorandum accusing the Congress-led state government of deliberately stalling development in opposition-held constituencies. The BJP delegation alleged that the continued withholding of the MLA Area Development Fund and the discretionary grant has crippled grassroots development and undermined democratic norms in Himachal Pradesh.
Submitting the memorandum at Raj Bhavan, the BJP Legislature Party conveyed that since October 2025, the state government has not released the full MLA Area Development Fund despite budgetary provisions being in place. According to the opposition, this decision has severely affected the ability of elected representatives to fulfil commitments made to voters, especially at a time when Himachal Pradesh is grappling with the aftermath of widespread natural disasters that caused significant damage to infrastructure, homes, and livelihoods.
Jai Ram Thakur told the Governor that development funds are not political favours but institutional mechanisms meant to ensure balanced growth across all constituencies, irrespective of party affiliations. He stressed that in a disaster-hit hill state like Himachal Pradesh, timely release of MLA funds becomes even more critical for repairing roads, restoring water supply schemes, strengthening rural connectivity, and supporting local communities. Instead, the BJP alleged, only partial funds were released, while the remaining sanctioned amount was withheld without justification, effectively paralysing development activity in several areas.
The memorandum further highlighted delays in the release of discretionary funds allotted to MLAs, which are traditionally used for providing immediate assistance to poor families, medical emergencies, and disaster-affected citizens. The BJP Legislature Party argued that withholding these funds has not only caused hardship to vulnerable sections but has also weakened the credibility of elected representatives in the eyes of the public. In a state frequently impacted by landslides, floods, and cloudbursts, discretionary funds often serve as the first line of relief, making their blockage particularly damaging from a humanitarian and governance perspective.
Raising a more serious institutional concern, Jai Ram Thakur alleged that over the last three years, development priorities submitted by opposition MLAs have been systematically ignored. He pointed out that it has been a long-standing convention in Himachal Pradesh for MLAs to submit priority works to departments such as Public Works and Jal Shakti, which are then converted into Detailed Project Reports and forwarded to NABARD or other funding agencies. However, according to the BJP, in opposition constituencies, DPRs are either not prepared at all or deliberately stalled even after preparation, preventing projects from moving forward.
Thakur termed this approach “contrary to democratic ethics” and warned that selective development based on political alignment damages the federal spirit and the principle of equal treatment of elected representatives. He alleged that even in cases where projects received administrative approval, payments were allegedly stopped at the treasury level, indicating what he described as a “planned and structured obstruction” of development works in non-ruling party constituencies.
From an economic standpoint, the BJP Legislature Party argued that delaying development expenditure has broader consequences for the state’s fragile hill economy. Infrastructure projects generate local employment, support small contractors, and stimulate rural markets. By blocking these funds, the opposition claimed, the government is indirectly affecting livelihoods at the grassroots level, at a time when economic recovery after natural disasters should be the top priority.
The BJP delegation urged Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to intervene and direct the state government to immediately release the pending MLA Area Development Fund and discretionary grants. They also demanded clear instructions to ensure that DPRs for opposition MLAs’ priority projects are prepared and forwarded to NABARD without political discrimination, so that balanced and inclusive development across all regions of Himachal Pradesh can be restored.
Several senior BJP leaders and MLAs accompanied Jai Ram Thakur during the submission of the memorandum, including Vipin Parmar, Satpal Satti, Bikram Thakur, Randhir Sharma, D.S. Thakur, Rakesh Jamwal, Pawan Kajal, Sukhram Chaudhary, Dilip Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dr Janak Raj, Deep Raj Kapoor, Lokender Kumar, Prakash Rana, Reena Kashyap, Trilok Jamwal, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Surender Shourie, Purn Chand, Jeet Ram Katwal, Hans Raj, Balbir Verma and others, underlining the collective stance of the opposition on the issue.
The Congress government is yet to issue an official response to the allegations. However, the issue has added fresh momentum to the political discourse in Himachal Pradesh, with the opposition positioning the fund freeze as not merely an administrative lapse but a question of democratic fairness, fiscal transparency, and economic justice. As the matter now rests with the Governor’s office, all eyes are on whether institutional intervention will push the government towards restoring what the BJP calls a “non-negotiable right of elected representatives” to serve their constituencies without political barriers.
