Shimla, August 25: BJP MLAs staged a protest on the premises of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly before the commencement of proceedings, raising slogans against the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government and demanding restoration of schemes implemented by the previous BJP government.
Speaking to the media, former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur alleged that the state government was pursuing a policy of political vendetta by discontinuing schemes of the previous government and using cases and investigations to target political opponents.
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s statement on jobs, Thakur said, “If the government cannot provide jobs, why did the Congress give a guarantee of five lakh jobs?” He said Congress leaders had repeatedly promised permanent and pensionable employment and had claimed that one lakh jobs would be created immediately after coming to power.
Thakur alleged that the Congress had misled the youth and women of Himachal Pradesh with these promises and that the government’s inability to fulfil them had now exposed its claims.
He further alleged that the government was making it difficult for beneficiaries to receive social security benefits. He claimed that beneficiaries of the Sahara pension were being shown as deceased, while names of elderly beneficiaries were being removed in the name of verification and KYC. He also alleged that payments under the Himcare health insurance scheme had been stopped, depriving people of treatment.
On allegations of irregularities in Himcare, Thakur claimed that the Chief Minister had initially alleged a scam of ₹1,100 crore and later reduced the figure to ₹100 crore after the BJP questioned the claim. He further alleged that pressure was being put on Vigilance officials to register cases against BJP leaders.
Thakur also accused the Chief Minister of making allegations regarding disrespect to the National Anthem in the Assembly and attempting to prevent the video of the proceedings from being released. He said the video had now become available and, according to him, had exposed the Chief Minister’s allegations. He demanded that the Chief Minister apologise.
The Leader of Opposition said people were suffering due to lack of access to timely healthcare while the government was engaged in political conspiracies. Referring to a reported incident in Palampur, he alleged that a person died after being unable to deposit ₹1.5 lakh at a private hospital, where treatment could not proceed as Himcare coverage was unavailable.
Thakur said this was not an isolated incident and claimed that people were facing difficulties in getting treatment, medicines and surgical supplies. He urged the Chief Minister to seriously consider the hardships being faced by patients across the state.
