BJP MLAs protest outside Himachal Assembly, demand restoration of schemes launched by previous government
Shimla: Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, alleging that the Congress government had failed to deliver on its employment guarantees and was instead discontinuing schemes introduced by the previous BJP government.
BJP MLAs staged a protest in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly complex before the start of the House proceedings, raising slogans against the Sukhu government and demanding the restoration of welfare schemes launched during the previous regime.
Speaking to mediapersons, Jai Ram Thakur alleged that the government was pursuing “politics of vendetta” by shutting down schemes of the previous government.
He particularly targeted the Congress over its employment promises, claiming that the Chief Minister had now admitted that the government could not provide the jobs it had promised.
“If the government cannot provide jobs, why were people given the guarantee of five lakh jobs?” Jai Ram asked.
He said Congress leaders had promised permanent and pensionable employment and had claimed that one lakh jobs would be announced in the first Cabinet meeting after coming to power.
“Now, as the government faces the prospect of going out of power, it is saying that jobs cannot be provided. What preparation had been done? The Congress, he alleged, had made these promises only to mislead the youth, women and other sections of society.
Jai Ram further alleged that the government was targeting political opponents through cases and conspiracies and accused it of going to “any extent” to harass the opposition.
He also raised concerns over the functioning of social security schemes and the Himcare health scheme. He alleged that beneficiaries were being removed in the name of verification and KYC and claimed that delays in payments had affected treatment under Himcare.
The Leader of the Opposition also accused the government of making changing allegations regarding the alleged irregularities in the Himcare scheme.
He alleged that Chief Minister Sukhu was putting pressure on Vigilance officials to register cases against BJP leaders in an attempt to substantiate allegations made against them. The government, however, has not publicly responded to these specific allegations in the statement.
Jai Ram also referred to the recent controversy over the alleged disrespect to the national anthem in the Assembly and claimed that the release of video footage had exposed what he described as the Chief Minister’s “false allegations”.
He said the Chief Minister should apologise over the issue.
Raising concerns over healthcare facilities, Jai Ram alleged that people were facing difficulties in accessing timely treatment. Referring to a reported case from Palampur, he claimed that a patient had died after being unable to arrange ₹1.5 lakh for treatment at a private hospital.
He alleged that the suspension of Himcare services at private hospitals had made it difficult for patients to access critical medical procedures.
“People are losing their lives without treatment while the Chief Minister is busy with conspiracies,” Jai Ram said.
He demanded that the government immediately restore the schemes discontinued after the change of regime and take steps to address concerns related to employment and healthcare.
