Shimla, March 22 -- Leader of opposition and former chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur, warning of serious financial implications said that the state is moving towards a "financial emergency".

"You cannot cut budgetary allocations like this without declaring a financial emergency. Himachal is heading in that direction," he said.

BJP leader pointed out that the budget size has been reduced by around Rs.3,500 crore compared to the previous year, while claiming that the overall outlay has remained nearly stagnant since the first budget of the present government.

"The first budget of this government was around Rs.53,000 crore, and even the fourth budget is almost at the same level. This reflects a lack of growth vision," he said.

Criticis...