DHARAMSHALA: The winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly kicked off on a stormy note in Tapovan near Dharamshala today, as Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh SukhU and JaI Ram  Thakur engaged in a fiery exchange over the contentious issue of water cess.

The heated debate saw both leaders aiming verbal salvos at each other, with Sukhu accusing the central government of biased treatment towards Congress-ruled states like Himachal Pradesh.

Sukhu pointed out that water cess is being imposed in BJP-ruled states such as Haryana, Jammu, and Uttarakhand, including the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

He questioned why Himachal Pradesh was being singled out for criticism regarding the imposition of water cess.

In response, the Leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, asserted that the central government treats all states equally on all  the issues. 

As the debates intensified in the Vidhan Sabha, Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi revealed that Himachal Pradesh had submitted a natural disaster compensation proposal of Rs. 9,902 crore to the center, but only Rs.200 crores had been received so far.

The opposition, including several BJP MLAs, slammed  the government's failure to fulfill election Guarantees  and accused the Sukhu government of deceiving the public for political gain.

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu stated that the previous government did not finalize any agreement with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam on the hydro project. Consequently, the state government suspended the existing agreement with the company and demanded a fresh agreement based on the terms and conditions set by the state.

The opposition, however, accused the government of sidestepping the issue of election guarantees to the voters of Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Vinay Kumar was unanimously elected as the new Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha.

However, the opposition criticized the government's indecisiveness, pointing out that newly appointed ministers Yadvinder Goma and Rajesh Dharmani are still without portfolios.