Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, who arrived at the Assembly session after returning from a visit to Delhi and Varanasi, on Monday sharply retorted to the Opposition BJP over its briefcase demonstration and proposed chargesheet.
Speaking to the media in the Assembly, CM Sukhu categorically stated that no minister in his three-year government has been accused of corruption, while the BJP itself has been the originator of a tradition of corruption and bribery.
Regarding the national anthem controversy, he clarified that the national anthem and national song are historical contributions of the Congress. “The country has progressed on the foundations of democracy and the Constitution laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. The BJP is creating such controversies to divert attention from its past mistakes.”
Referring to the state's financial interests, CM Sukhu said the government has achieved a legal victory of Rs 401 crore in the Wildflower Hall case.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Kapil Sibal has strongly argued in the BBMB case, and the verdict is reserved.
Taking a dig at the BJP's briefcase demonstration in the Assembly premises, the Chief Minister said that when nine MLAs were sold, briefcases were discussed in the state.
“Now, the money given has run out, so BJP leaders are roaming around with empty briefcases. The briefcase tradition is a legacy of the BJP, and only those who have looted the state's wealth and filled their briefcases know how this game works. Honest people don't need briefcases. If they wanted to protest inflation, BJP leaders would have brought briefcases filled with onions and sugar and distributed them among the public. The government is working on a zero-tolerance approach against corruption, and in the coming days, many more names will be revealed to the public with solid facts.”
Taking aim at the BJP's chargesheet, CM Sukhu said that the same people who were named in the BJP's 2017 chargesheet are preparing the chargesheet today. In the 2017 chargesheet, the BJP levelled serious allegations against Sudhir Sharma and Rajendra Rana, who are now in the BJP. Harsh Mahajan's name was also included in the same chargesheet in the cooperative bank case. When the government initiated action in these cases, the entire BJP came to his defence. The Leader of the Opposition is only trying to save his own chair, he said.
Regarding the BJP MLAs' visit to the Vigilance Headquarters, the Chief Minister said, “The leaders are going with 10-15 MLAs as if they had fought in the War of Independence. The investigating agencies are only asking for documents and the names of contractors; this is being unnecessarily turned into political drama.”
On cabinet expansion, the Chief Minister smiled and said that the government still has one year and four months to go, and that the situation will be clarified when the time comes.
Recalling his days in student politics (NSUI), Sukhu said that legislator Sunder Singh Thakur is his old colleague, but in politics every decision has its time, and the mystery of the announcement of Cabinet expansion will be revealed only when the time comes.
