HimVani
The budget session of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha started on a stormy note with Congress legislators staging a walkout over fare hike. The Congressmen were demanding a discussion on the issue, while Speaker Tulsi Ram did not permit the discussion on the ground that the opposition had not served a proper notice within the stipulated time. Congress leader Kaul Singh reasoned that the discussion be allowed as there was not much business listed for the day.
Leader of the opposition Vidya Stokes said the government had burdened the common man with an unjustified bus fare hike.Former transport minister GS Bali said the new transport tariff in the state was the highest for any hill state in the country. Kaul Singh said that the hike was hurting HRTC as private operators were subsidizing their fare, which was eating into passenger volumes of the state transport service.
However, justifying the move, Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the government was not shying from a discussion on the issue and was prepared to justify its action.
