Shimla, January 31:
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday dismissed the Congress party’s two-hour hunger strike in Shimla as “mere political drama,” alleging it was staged to appease the party high command rather than to safeguard public welfare.
Shimla District BJP spokesperson Jitendra Bhotka and former Vice President of the Saksham Gundia Board, Rupa Sharma, criticized the protest held against the Vikasit Bharat Gramin Aajeevika Guarantee (VBGRAMJI) Act. They asserted that the new legislation introduced by the BJP-led central government would mark a milestone in ensuring transparency and eliminating corruption in rural development works.
The BJP leaders said digitization and biometric attendance under the scheme would curb the role of middlemen and prevent misuse of funds meant for the poor. They claimed the law would accelerate rural development and strengthen poverty alleviation efforts through transparent mechanisms.
Accusing the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh of misleading the public, Bhotka alleged that the party has historically supported systems benefiting intermediaries. He added that the people of the state are now aware of what he termed as “Congress theatrics” and would not be influenced by such protests.
The Congress party had staged the hunger strike in protest against the implementation of the new rural livelihood guarantee framework, raising concerns over its impact on beneficiaries.
