Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing it of using “corruption and lies” to mislead people and win elections, while asserting that the Congress government was exposing alleged irregularities committed during the previous regime one after another.
Addressing a public gathering after laying the foundation stones of the City Centre and the Town Hall extension in Hamirpur, Sukhu claimed that the list of scams during the BJP government led by former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was long and would continue to be brought before the public.
Referring to the erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, Sukhu alleged that the institution had been used to favour BJP workers and affiliated organisations at the cost of deserving candidates. He claimed that some government posts were allegedly sold, prompting his government to dissolve the commission and establish the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog to ensure transparent recruitment based on merit.
The CM also alleged large-scale irregularities in the Himcare health insurance scheme, claiming that investigations had revealed fraudulent claims worth crores of rupees. Citing one instance, he alleged that reimbursement claims had been raised for tubectomy procedures performed on men, despite the procedure being applicable only to women, adding that several such cases had surfaced during the ongoing probe.
Targeting the previous BJP government, Sukhu alleged that Hamirpur district had faced step-motherly treatment under Jai Ram Thakur and was even denied representation in the state Cabinet. He also claimed that the BJP’s internal politics had led to the electoral defeat of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal despite projecting him as the party’s chief ministerial face.
Highlighting development initiatives, Sukhu described the Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College in Hamirpur as his dream project, saying it had been sanctioned in 2014 by the then UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with an initial allocation of Rs 179 crore. He alleged that successive BJP governments delayed the project, while his government had provided an additional Rs 450 crore to complete it with modern infrastructure and advanced medical facilities.
Rejecting claims made by former Union Minister Anurag Thakur regarding the medical college, Sukhu challenged him to identify a single major development project he had brought to Hamirpur during his two decades in Parliament.
The Chief Minister said development works worth over Rs 1,000 crore were underway in Hamirpur, including the Rs 130-crore bus stand, Rs 250-crore City Centre, Rs 120-crore sports complex at Nadaun, Rs 35-crore HPTDC hotel, a proposed Rs 200-crore rafting centre, Town Hall extension and upgraded water supply.
He also announced that the government was considering a policy for long-settled landless families on government land, besides promising a five-year municipal tax exemption for newly merged Municipal Corporation areas and better facilities for street vendors.