‘Sukhu kept counting BJP factions while Congress factions worked to dislodge him’
‘Development stalled under Congress government; people still remember BJP schemes,’ says former CM at Sujanpur event
Hamirpur, September 20: Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur on Sunday criticised the Congress government and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, alleging that the state was being run according to the chief minister’s “whims” rather than the sentiments of the people.
Addressing a felicitation ceremony for newly elected BJP-backed Panchayati Raj representatives in the Sujanpur assembly constituency, Thakur alleged that the chief minister takes decisions in consultation with his “friends” rather than his cabinet colleagues.
“He keeps counting factions within the BJP, while factions within the Congress are busy trying to dislodge him from his chair,” Thakur said, alleging that the chief minister was more concerned about protecting his position than running the government.
Thakur also criticised the state government over the Panchayati Raj elections, saying local self-government institutions were among the most important units of democracy. He alleged that the government had attempted to delay the elections and subsequently failed to show due respect to the representatives elected by the people.
“We fought up to the Supreme Court for these elections and were among the first to reach out to the elected representatives to honour them,” he said.
Thakur claimed that BJP-backed candidates had won in 10 of the 11 zila parishads and three municipal corporations, and that nearly 80% of the elected representatives across the state were aligned with the BJP ideology. These figures were presented by Thakur as part of his assessment of the recent local body elections.
‘Ministers and CM running to Delhi to save government’
Taking a dig at the political situation within the state Congress, Thakur alleged that ministers and the chief minister were travelling to Delhi over internal differences.
“Had they been going to Delhi for the development of Himachal Pradesh, it would have been understandable. But here, the game is about saving the government,” he said.
He further claimed that after the Congress leadership, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, sought explanations for the party’s electoral performance, the chief minister blamed his ministers, while the ministers, according to Thakur, attributed the situation to the chief minister’s style of functioning.
‘People still remember BJP-era schemes’
Comparing the present government with the previous BJP administration, Thakur alleged that people still remember welfare and development schemes launched during his tenure.
“The government is in power, but when it has not introduced any new scheme, what will people remember?” he said.
He also alleged that the present government had shut down more than 2,500 institutions opened during the previous BJP government.
Listing the achievements of his government, Thakur said the BJP administration had constructed a record 5,000 km of roads and reduced the eligibility age for old-age pension from 80 years to 60 years in its first cabinet meeting.
He also alleged that the present government had given extensions to officials facing corruption-related allegations. These were political claims made by Thakur and were not independently established in his remarks.
Thakur raises state debt issue
Thakur also criticised the government over the state’s debt burden. He claimed that ₹19,600 crore was borrowed during his tenure, while the Sukhu government had raised more than ₹50,000 crore in loans in around three-and-a-half years.
According to Thakur, the state’s total debt had increased from around ₹69,600 crore to more than ₹1.20 lakh crore. He questioned the government over the alleged lack of new development projects despite the increase in borrowing. Similar debt figures and allegations were reported in coverage of Thakur’s recent remarks in Himachal.
Former MLA Rajendra Rana, MLA Ashish Sharma, former MLAs Kamlesh Dhiman and Vijay Agnihotri, former MLA Dr Anil Dhiman, BJP leaders Vinod Kumar and Abhishek Rana, along with a large number of party workers and local representatives, were present at the event.
Thakur was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival in Sujanpur.
