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BJP, Congress trade barbs over assault on ex-MLA Jagjiwan Paul in Himachal
The Congress had blamed local legislator and Himachal Pradesh assembly speaker Vipin Singh Parmar for the assault on Jagjiwan Paul . However, Parmar dismissed the charge as a “cheap publicity stunt.”
The Congress and BJP have been firing salvos at each other over the assault on former Congress MLA Jagjiwan Paul, whom saffron party workers had allegedly slapped and pushed around during an event at Rada Panchayat of the Sulah assembly segment on August 31.
The Congress had blamed local legislator and Himachal Pradesh assembly speaker Vipin Singh Parmar for the assault. However, Parmar dismissed the charge as a “cheap publicity stunt.”
Holding Paul responsible for the assault, Parmar said, “The assault on the former MLA is deplorable and I condemn it in the strongest words. However, it is Paul who jumped into the villagers’ internal dispute. Now, he is blaming the BJP,” he said.
“This is a tactic to regain lost ground as assembly elections draw closer,” he said, adding that Paul was know for “creating drama and disrupting government events.”
Congress takes out rally
Meanwhile, the Congress carried out a rally in Bhawarna in Sulah assembly segment on Monday to protest against the assault on its senior leader.
The protest march was led by state Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore and leader of Congress legislative party Mukesh Agnihotri.
They submitted a memorandum to the governor through the tehsildar to flag the deteriorating law and order situation in Himachal Pradesh. Addressing the protest rally, Rathore said the assault was not just against Paul, but also the Congress’ ideology.
“The people of the state will give a befitting reply to the ‘gundasim’ of the BJP in the 2022 assembly elections,” he said.
Former MP Chander Kumar, state Congress president Ajay Mahajan and former minister Chander Kumar were also present.
