Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Monday sparked a fresh standoff with the ruling Congress in the state after he refused to read “critical" parts of his customary speech on the opening day of the assembly’s budget session, ending his address within two minutes.

In a move that left the House stunned, Shiv Pratap Shukla specifically omitted at least 14 paragraphs of the prepared text while speaking.

Shukla defended his decision to omit by saying the document contained inappropriate “comments on constitutional institutions", indicating his objection to remarks on the 16th Finance Commission.

“I don’t think I should read it," Shukla told the House, adding that while he had carefully reviewed the text, the assembly should instead focus its deliberations on the sections on government achievements and future roadmaps.

“The rest of the address consists of achievements of the government and future achievements that I am sure the House will deliberate on," he said before concluding his short speech with greetings to the members.

The omitted sections, which are now central to the standoff between Shukla and the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, reportedly contained a scathing critique of the 16th Finance Commission.

The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government had drafted a formal protest against the commission’s decision to eliminate the revenue deficit grant (RDG), which is a vital financial lifeline for the hill state.

According to the prepared text, the state government argues that the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendations are “against the spirit of Article 275 (1) of the Constitution". It claims that the commission failed to reflect Himachal Pradesh’s specific financial needs by presenting combined revenue and expenditure estimates for different states rather than an individual assessment.

The discontinuation of the revenue deficit grant (RDG) represents a fiscal cliff for Himachal Pradesh. Previously, it accounted for approximately 12.7 percent of the state’s total budget – the second-highest dependency in India after Nagaland.

Under the 15th Finance Commission, Himachal received roughly Rs 48,630 crore over six years. This has been “completely abolished" by the new recommendations, leading to a projected annual loss of Rs 10,000 crore while highlighting a staggering disparity in the state’s finances.

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