Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal Monday reacted strongly to remarks by chief minister Virbhadra Singh directed against him saying they were "astonishing". "Everyone in politics is aware about his antics and behaviour with his rivals within and outside his party," he said.
Making an oblique reference to the chief minister, he said: "Some people always boast about their honesty, while people around them are aware about the reality. As far as Virbhadra's remark that I'm suffering from complexes is concerned I want to make it clear neither sons of soldiers nor wards of farmers have complexes. Virbhadra should know how the Congress party formed the government for six days in 1998 and beat up the elected representative," Dhumal said in a statement issued Monday.
"In 1997 the Congress party-led state government forcibly removed elected legislator Mahender Singh from the stage and later had him and his family members arrested and shifted from one police station to another. This act reflected his (Virbhadra's) character. He should also remember the treatment meted out to Rajya Sabha member Anand Sharma, former chief minister Thakur Ram Lal and former legislator OP Rattan," Dhumal said.
Reacting to the statement he was a "failure" as leader of the opposition, Dhumal said: "All BJP legislators are disciplined and dedicated to development of their constituencies. For BJP legislators the state's interests are paramount and they're capable of taking up public issues with dignity and grace. They're aware that functions that are held by spending taxpayers' money are government functions and every legislator has the right to attend such functions. Our legislators know all these things better but the six-time chief minister should also realise this."
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the statement he was a "failure" as leader of the opposition, Dhumal said: "All BJP legislators are disciplined and dedicated to development of their constituencies. For BJP legislators the state's interests are paramount and they're capable of taking up public issues with dignity and grace. They're aware that functions that are held by spending taxpayers' money are government functions and every legislator has the right to attend such functions. Our legislators know all these things better but the six-time chief minister should also realise this."
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