Accusing Congress of large-scale corruption, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators staged a protest on the premises of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Monday, before the third day of the session commenced.
BJP legislators held a protest with suitcases raising slogans alleging large scale corruption in the state. In June this year former Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) and son of an Agriculture Minister, Neeraj Bharti, had made serious allegations regarding ‘briefcases.’ Without naming anyone, he had stated that two briefcases are kept for oneself while three are sent to Delhi.
Speaking to mediapersons in Shimla on the sidelines of the protest, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said, “The current government is completely mired in corruption. The entire state is suffering. Development works have virtually come to a standstill and corruption has crossed all limits.”
“Every work has a person fixed for it and a commission is fixed,” he alleged, citing departments and areas including road-related works, health supplies, medicines, education supplies and government tenders.
Thakur alleged that conditions were being incorporated into tenders to favour particular individuals, contractors or companies.
{{/usCountry}}Thakur alleged that conditions were being incorporated into tenders to favour particular individuals, contractors or companies.
{{/usCountry}}“These things are happening in an organised manner. If one has to see the worst form of corruption in Himachal Pradesh, it is being seen under the Sukhu government,” he alleged.
During the protest, Thakur said the BJP would continue to “expose what it termed the government’s failures and corruption”.
He also referred to the recently held Panchayat elections, claiming that the results reflected public dissatisfaction with the Congress government.
Suitcase culture is BJP’s culture: Sukhu
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu strongly hit back at the BJP over its protest involving suitcases.
Reacting to BJP allegations of corruption against his government, Sukhu said, “We have zero tolerance to corruption. In more than 3 years of our government neither any minister in the cabinet nor the government had faced such allegations in the manner being portrayed by the opposition”.
Dismissing the protest as “mere theatrics”, Sukhu said, “BJP’s protest with briefcases was an attempt to level allegations against a government that, according to him, was committed to clean governance”.
“I wondered why they had brought briefcases. Where did this briefcase politics come from?” he said, referring to the political developments surrounding the defection of six Congress MLAs.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, Sukhu said the briefcases carried by the opposition were empty and alleged that the BJP had itself started the “briefcase” tradition in Himachal politics. Sukhu was talking to mediapersons after returning to Shimla from Varanasi.
“Those who are honest should not be pointing fingers. Those who are associated with corruption are the ones who distribute briefcases,” he said.
He further alleged that the BJP’s protest was aimed at diverting attention from issues concerning the state and the public.
He alleged that the BJP needed to answer questions related to alleged irregularities concerning HimCare and other government schemes, liquor contracts and other matters.
Sukhu said his government would ensure that any wealth allegedly accumulated by corrupt means was brought before the people.
He said the government was pursuing its fight against corruption and claimed that more names would emerge in the coming days.
“Many more names will come out, and they will come out with facts,” he said.
Sukhu also hit out at the BJP over the controversy surrounding the National Anthem and Vande Mataram in the assembly.
He said the National Anthem had been sung and observed by everyone, and alleged that raising questions over it afterwards amounted to disrespect.
Responding to allegations that the Congress government was engaging in “politics of vendetta”, Sukhu said there was a distinction between political vendetta and action against corruption.