HP: Guv shortens speech to Assembly, skips parts

In an unusual move, Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Monday concluded his address to the state Legislative Assembly within two minutes, skipping a portion of the speech over what he termed as “comments on a constitutional institution”.

Speaking at the start of the Budget Session of the Assembly, the governor said he would not read paragraph 3 to 16 of the prepared speech. “I think there are comments on the constitutional institution from paragraph 3 to 16 and I do not think I should read it,” the governor told the House. He noted that the address from paragraph 17 onwards contains Government achievements which would be subject to deliberation upon by the legislators.

Earlier, the governor informed the House that the session has been convened for passing supplementary demands for grants for the year 2025-26, the budget for the financial year 2026-27 and for important legislative business. The skipped portion of the address focused on the revenue deficit grant (RDG).

However, the 16th Finance Commission has recommended the abolition of the RDG, which is against the spirit of Article 275 (1) of the Constitution,” the text read. 

The prepared text, which was considered as read, stated, “the Finance Commission has presented combined revenue and expenditure estimates of various States for the award period instead of showing them separately.