Sunil Chadha
Shimla: On August 19, 2025, what should have been a routine query in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has snowballed into an embarrassment for the state government. At the heart of the storm lies a troubling question: who inflated the bills for cabinet-rank leaders, and why?
The reply, furnished by the Department of Multipurpose Projects and Energy, listed bills so inflated that even seasoned legislators were left astonished. Tourism Board Chairman RS Bali topped the chart. Yet, within hours, Bali struck a defensive tone.
“The actual bill is very less,” he insisted at a press conference, promising to pay whatever amount was claimed, but pointedly demanding an investigation into how such figures found their way into Assembly records.
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu too said that the figures were inaccurate and vowing to inquire into the discrepancy. But the question lingers: How did such glaringly inflated numbers make it into the Assembly in the first place?
This is no mere clerical error. To present erroneous financial figures before a legislative body is not a slip of the pen — it points either to shocking negligence or calculated manipulation. And if manipulation is indeed the case, the stakes are far higher: did someone quietly adjust their own bills into those of cabinet leaders, including the Chief Minister?
The political fallout is already evident. For the opposition, this controversy is a gift-wrapped opportunity. For the public, it reinforces cynicism about the integrity of those in power. And for the ruling Congress, it is a credibility test it can ill afford to fail.
At its core, the issue is about accountability. Citizens have every right to demand transparency, not explanations that dodge responsibility. If the government wishes to salvage trust, it must not only identify the culprits but also disclose the chain of approvals that allowed such figures to pass unchecked.
Until then, suspicion will linger. Was this incompetence? Or was it a deliberate act of cover-up, carried out in the shadow of bureaucracy? Or, more worryingly, did someone else adjust their own bills into those attributed to cabinet-rank leaders? Himachal’s voters deserve answers, and half-clarifications will not suffice.
In politics, perception is reality. Unless this controversy is settled with speed and honesty, the image of leaders are at risk carrying the weight of a this that may yet prove heavier than the bills themselves.
