India, March 25 -- The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Wednesday witnessed a heated exchange between the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a proposed hike in entry tax.

Clarifying the state's stance, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu denied any tax hike for light motor vehicles (LMVs) and accused the opposition of exaggerating the issue. Responding to queries by BJP MLAs Rakesh Jamwal and Sukhram Chaudhary, and Congress legislator Rakesh Kalia, Sukhu said the tax applies only to commercial vehicles and has not been increased to the levels being claimed.

Highlighting an increase in state revenue, he said toll auction collections have risen from Rs.185 crore to Rs.228 crore.

The chief minister explaine...