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Jai Ram Thakur elected leader of BJP legislature party in Himachal
Jai Ram was unanimously elected as all 24 BJP MLAs proposed his name for the post, senior party leader and head of the election management committee Mangal Pandey said
Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who was on Sunday elected the leader of the BJP legislature party in Himachal Pradesh, hit out at the Congress, alleging its government was failing to deliver on poll promises and leaders were moving in different directions.
Jai Ram was unanimously elected as all 24 BJP MLAs proposed his name for the post, senior party leader and head of the election management committee Mangal Pandey said.
The Congress wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP in November winning 40 seats in the 68-member assembly. The saffron party won 25 seats and three went to Independents.
Six-time legislator Jai Ram won from Seraj with the highest margin.
The meeting of the BJP MLAs here was attended by state BJP chief Suresh Kashyap, state BJP in-charge and co-incharge Avinash Rai Khanna and Sanjay Tandon, and central observer Vinod Tawda.
Addressing mediapersons later on Sunday, Jai Ram said though the difference in vote share between the Congress and the BJP was just 0.9%, the BJP has accepted the mandate and is ready to perform the role of opposition.
However, the Congress government has failed to deliver on its poll promises, he said and noted that it promised to implement the old pension scheme in 10 days, but 14 days have passed.
The Congress is still unable to expand the cabinet, he said and added that the chief minister, deputy chief minister and MLAs are moving in different directions.
It is the first time that the public is protesting on road in the first two weeks of a new government as all development works have been affected, he claimed and added that MLAs are waiting to be inducted in cabinet while advisers are already enjoying cabinet ranks.
Jai Ram, who also submitted a memorandum to the governor, opposed the “de-notifying of functional institutions” opened after April 1.
“It is illegal and the BJP is examining the matter legally as the institutions were opened after approval from the cabinet and with budget provision and creation of posts,” he added.
He informed the governor that the present Congress government has closed 574 institutions, including offices related to electricity services, health, revenue sub-circles, police stations and ayurvedic hospitals which were functional.
Institutions opened without budget provisions with an eye on polls: Sukhu
The previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Himachal had opened over 590 institutions during the fag end of its tenure without making any budgetary provision with a sole objective to woo the voters, chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said in Shimla on Sunday.
While interacting with the media after arriving from New Delhi, he said the previous government in the last about six months went on a spree to open health, education, revenue and other institutions in a “desperate bid to befool the voters”.
He said to make all these institutions functional, ₹3,000 crore was required. “It was strange that when the state was reeling under heavy financial debt trap of over ₹75,000 crore, the BJP government, despite its double-engine mechanism, could not get assistance of even a single penny from the Centre,” he added.
Sukhu said over 30 health institutions had been opened by the previous BJP government which did not have even class-4 employees and a large number of institutions were started with just a single employee. He said subdivisional magistrate offices were opened, but no SDM was posted there.
The chief minister said in most of the institutions, staff from adjoining offices was temporarily deployed, which was not only proving futile for the newly opened offices but also hampering the functioning of the already existing institutions.
He said health institutions opened during this period were devoid of man and machinery. “The current government has decided to wind up such institutions. All these offices would be reviewed and if found to be viable, will be reopened after making proper budget provision,” Sukhu said.
He said that the government would ensure that institutions were opened as per demand and in the larger interest of the people of Himachal. The arrest of the accused in the JOA (IT) paper leak shows the scam going on in the state since the BJP government’s tenure, Sukhu said, adding that he has directed the police officers to be vigilant.
The chief minister said that the government was concerned about the issue related to cement plants in the state. He said the entire issue was between the cement plant management and truck operators’ union and would be sorted out soon. He said the people of Himachal would get cement at cheaper rates in the days to come.
