Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has given a clean chit to his ministers and MLAs on the issue of corruption.

In response to the two-day discussion on Thursday on the adjournment motion brought under Rule 67 by the opposition in the assembly on the issue of alleged corruption during the two-year tenure of the Congress government in the state, the Chief Minister said that not a single MLA or minister of Congress is accused of corruption.

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Announcing to introduce an Act to end corruption, Sukhu said there should be honesty, transparency, and morality in political and public life.

Dissatisfied with the Chief Minister’s reply, the opposition first created a ruckus in the house in the middle of the reply and then walked out of the House, shouting slogans.

The Chief Minister said that his government has taken decisions with candour and will continue to do so in the future. He added that the government will not compromise when the state’s interests are at stake.

Alleging that all the land mafia in the state is linked to the BJP, Sukhu said the government will not allow the state’s wealth to be looted.

“Wherever we find evidence of corruption, we will take strict action,” asserted Sukhu.

The Chief Minister said the state government is also considering not allowing mining leases in rivers where embankments have been constructed. He added that the government is also contemplating rules to ban cutting of trees.

Sukhu said his government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against corruption from day one. Regarding the controversy related to the sale of 80 kanal land in Naidun, he said that this land belongs to BJP workers and that the party, due to internal conflict, is trying to trap him.

The Chief Minister said his party came to power not for the comforts of office, but to change the system.

He accused the BJP of destabilising the Congress government by hatching conspiracies from time to time. Sukhu said he is now buying the same BJP washing machine in which all corrupt people are cleansed and freed from charges. He also referred to BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan and said that while the BJP had accused him of irregularities in the State Cooperative Bank in an earlier chargesheet, Mahajan has now come out clean in the BJP’s washing machine.

The Chief Minister termed the BJP’s ‘Kacha Chitha’ as the biggest proof of its internal discord. He said the Kacha Chitha of BJP is actually a conspiracy to defame the Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.

When the Chief Minister mentioned raising an additional revenue of Rs 600 crore in a single year through the excise policy and auction of liquor contracts, the entire opposition first stood up from their seats and started creating a ruckus. After a while of sloganeering and noise, the entire opposition walked out of the House, shouting slogans.