Hamirpur: Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur on Saturday criticised the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government over what he described as repeated judicial setbacks to its policies, rules and decisions, and welcomed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s decision on the appointment of medical officers as “job trainees”.
Thakur, who is on a visit to Hamirpur, said the government’s repeated legal setbacks raised questions about its decision-making process. He questioned why the government continued to face embarrassment in court despite having a large team of advisers and legal experts.
“The government is creating a record of unconstitutional rules, policies, laws and decisions in the name of ‘Vyavastha Parivartan’,” Thakur said in a statement issued from Hamirpur. His remarks were directed at the state government and represented his political assessment of its functioning.
Welcoming the High Court’s ruling declaring the decision to appoint medical officers as job trainees unconstitutional, Thakur said the BJP had earlier raised objections to the policy and warned the government about its possible legal implications. He alleged that the government had ignored those concerns.
Thakur said the BJP had also opposed what he described as “inconsistent” legislation brought by the government in the Assembly, arguing that some of the provisions would not withstand judicial scrutiny. He alleged that the government’s insistence on proceeding with such measures had affected the dignity of the House.
The former chief minister also criticised the state government over the condition of the healthcare system. He alleged that hospitals and medical colleges were facing shortages of doctors, technicians and other essential staff despite the availability of equipment.
He claimed that MRI and other machines had been procured but adequate personnel to operate them were not available. He also alleged that open-heart surgery at a super-speciality hospital in the state had remained suspended for around 10 months.
“Where there are machines, there are no technicians; where technicians are available, machines are not,” Thakur said, further alleging shortages of chemicals and other accessories required for diagnostic tests.
Thakur said healthcare was directly linked to people’s lives and urged the government to focus on ensuring basic facilities, adequate manpower and the effective functioning of medical equipment rather than making announcements.
