In a scathing rebuke, the Congress has launched a blistering attack on the BJP over its MP Anantkumar Hegde's recent remarks about amending the Constitution. The Congress alleged that the BJP's ambitions for a sweeping victory in elections aim to transform India into a dictatorship officially.

Justice Tarlok Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya, sitting as a Division Bench, ruled that the clauses outlined in the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Electricity Generation Act, 2023, exceed the legislative authority vested in the state government under Articles 246 and 265 of the Constitution of India, rendering them ultra vires the Constitution.

"The Preamble of the Constitution provides to all its citizens' justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. The Constitution of India has envisaged all its citizens' equal opportunities and equal status to develop themselves with self-dignity and thereby contribute to the development of the nation. My government is working hard to realise these aspirations of the Constitution," Gehlot said.

The announcement, made today, marks a crucial step in formulating fiscal policies that will impact the Union as well as the States. The Members of the Sixteenth Finance Commission will be notified separately, bringing together a diverse group of experts to deliberate on complex economic matters.