BJP on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu over the issue of de-notification of about 900 institutions in the state.
On the last day of the Assembly session at Tapovan in Dharamsala, the Opposition termed the address given by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on behalf of the government in the House without a road map and directionless.
On the other hand, the ruling party defended the decisions of the government and said that the BJP should exercise restraint for six months and see the working style of the government.
Initiating the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s address, Congress MLA Sanjay Rattan advised the BJP to play the role of constructive opposition and give positive suggestions so that the government can implement them.
He said that the Congress government will do all the work, which will be in the interest of the state.
Defending the government’s decision to de-notify institutions, he said that the previous government in the last year of its tenure opened many such institutions, which instead of benefiting the people, caused losses.
Ratan said that the government misused public money to open such institutions, despite this the BJP lost the election.
Questioning the need for opening such a large number of institutions in the last year of the government, he justified the decision to suspend the work of the Himachal Pradesh Services Selection Commission (HPSSC).
This institution had become a den of corruption and nepotism, he charged.
Ratan appealed to the Chief Minister to immediately stop the pension being given by the previous government in the form of ‘Samman Rashi’ to the people lodged in the jails during the Emergency.
He also accused the previous government of discriminating against Kangra and promoting politics of regionalism in the state and said that the previous government did not take any steps to control price rises nor protect the interests of the employees.
He also accused the previous government of playing a joke with the unemployed.
While approving the motion of thanks, Congress MLA Chandra Shekhar demanded the government to provide 120 days of employment to all MNREGA job card holders in the state.
Accusing the Central government of weakening MNREGA, he also alleged corruption in the previous BJP government in Jal Jeevan Mission and Horticulture Mission.
“The work done under both these missions should be investigated,” he demanded. He also demanded an inquiry into the movement of vehicles in the Jal Shakti Department during the Corona period.
BJP member Vipin Singh Parmar strongly opposed the decision of the state government to de-notify the institutions opened during the tenure of the previous BJP government and appealed to the government to reconsider its decision.
He said that the previous government provided convenience to the people by opening the institutions, but the present Congress government is trying to take it back.
BJP will raise this issue in the House as well as on the roads. He also expressed surprise over the closure of the 70-year-old police post opened in 1952 at Dahar in Sundernagar by the government and advised the officials to give correct information to the government.
Parmar said that Congress in its manifesto had promised to implement OPS within 10 days after forming the government, provision of one lakh jobs and Rs 1500 to women.
Seeking to know what happened to these promises as it is going to be one month since the formation of the government, Parmar said that there is no road map or vision in the Governor’s address and said that the Governor read this address under compulsion and looked disappointed.
He said that within a few days, the people of the state have become fed up with the working style and are now openly raising slogans against the government.
Congress member Vikramaditya Singh said the opposition should remove its political spectacle and appreciate the decisions being taken by the Sukhu government in the interest of the state.
He said that the Governor’s address has been prepared by the same officers who were posted on important posts in the previous BJP government. Therefore, the BJP should not doubt the wisdom of the officers, he added.
Singh said that out of the debt of more than Rs 70 thousand crore on the state, the loan of more than Rs 25 thousand crore has been taken only by the former Jai Ram Thakur government. In such a situation, the BJP has no moral right to question the Sukhu government, he added.
Singh said: “The people of the state have rejected the BJP. That’s why for the next six months, BJP MLAs should come to the Vidhan Sabha and maintain silence and see our working style.”
He asked why the CBI inquiry into the police recruitment scam during the tenure of the previous government was not done till date and what happened to the Green Field airport, the dream project of former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.