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Some ‘power addicts’ trying to topple elected government: Sukhu
Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the unscrupulous move of few to topple the government would not be successful.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said that “few power addicts” were trying to topple the democratically elected government of the state.
“Some people have become addicted to power and as a result, have betrayed the mandate of the people by resorting to evil attempts to topple the state government,” said Sukhu while addressing the public at Indora in Kangra district. This was the chief minister’s third visit to the Kangra district in the last week.
Sukhu said that the unscrupulous move of few to topple the government would not be successful. “I am facing all the challenges to carry the state ahead on the path of progress. I have faced many such challenges even before in my long political career, and have seen that when one works for the welfare of the people, it is always reciprocated with love and support,” he said.
He added the public will never forget and forgive the attempts of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to play with democracy by “dhan bal money power)”. “The six disqualified Congress MLAs were being escorted by the central security agencies to hideouts in different regions and they would not be able to face the people of their constituencies. They have now been shifted from a five-star hotel of Haryana’s Panchkula to Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh on the bank of Ganga River to wipe out their sins,” Sukhu said, adding that their actions will be remembered as a “black chapter in the history of the state.
The chief minister unveiled and laid foundation stones of 14 development projects worth ₹143 crore in Indora assembly constituency. He also presided over the annual function of Government Degree College, Indora, and announced the opening of Rajiv Gandhi Model Day Boarding School in the area.
Sukhu said that the government has fulfilled five of its election guarantees, reinstating old pension scheme for all government employees, providing ₹1,500 to women under Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana, starting Rajiv Gandhi Start-up Yojana, English medium in all of the state-run schools and becoming the first state in the country to fix minimum support price for milk. He added that the rest of the guarantees will be fulfilled in a phased manner.
Sukhu, Pratibha participate in the torch procession
The chief minister and state party chief Pratibha Singh participated in a torch procession carried out by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) against the BJP and its allies who “were trying to destabilise the government.”
The procession started from The Ridge and culminated at Ambedkar Chowk, Chaura Maidan in Shimla.
Alongside Pratibha and Sukhu, cabinet ministers, deputy speaker, MLAs, office bearers and party leaders participated in the procession.
Addressing the media, Sukhu said that BJP attempted to “make a mockery of the democratic norms in an unethical and undemocratic manner and tried to topple the Congress government, ignoring the mandate of the people”. An attempt was made by the Centre to attack the democratically elected government by using unconstitutional means, he said.
Sukhu added the BJP attempted to undermine democracy, which is why we have organised the “save democracy march”.
Pratibha said that they are protesting against the Centre. “Despite our persistent pleas, they have not heeded our concerns. I had even met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform him about the challenges faced by the state. There is growing frustration among the people as they did not receive the assistance from the Centre they had hoped for,” she said.
“We have brought up numerous issues with the Centre, but unfortunately, Himachal Pradesh has been overlooked. This is surprising given that the PM often refers to this state as his second home,” she added.
On the political crisis Congress government in the state, she emphasised that the people had elected this government for a five-year term and yet the BJP attempted to topple it.
“The people are observing these developments closely and will respond accordingly in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” she added.
