The three-day Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha began on Monday with Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla delivering his address, but notably skipping significant portions of the speech related to the discontinuation of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) by the 16th Finance Commission.“Since paragraphs three to sixteen of my speech pertain to a constitutional body, I would not like to read them,” said Shukla. He wrapped up his 50-page speech in under three minutes, reading only the first two paragraphs that outlined the session’s agenda — passing supplementary demands for 2025-26, the budget for 2026-27, and other legislative business.Shukla’s decision effectively avoided reading the sections prepared by the state government highlighting concerns over the RDG’s discontinuation, a contentious issue that has dominated the state’s political discourse. The speech had noted that Article 275(1) of the Constitution provides grants to states unable to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditure. Historically, from the first Finance Commission in 1952 through the 15th FC (2020-25), Himachal Pradesh had consistently received RDG.Paragraphs 15 and 16, which were skipped, emphasised that the 16th Finance Commission’s decision to discontinue RDG would significantly affect small and hill states, particularly Special Category States like Himachal. The speech had stressed that for hilly and border states, where revenue generation is limited due to geography and natural resources, the RDG plays a critical role in funding development projects, social welfare schemes, and disaster management programmes.By avoiding these sections, the Governor sidestepped a politically sensitive topic while focusing only on achievements of the state government and routine legislative business, maintaining the session’s procedural decorum without addressing the financial concerns of the state.The omission is expected to set the tone for debates in the assembly over the state’s budgetary and development priorities in light of the discontinuation of central assistance.