Virbhadra has exhausted all legal options, says Union law minister
CHARGE Says CM is using state machinery to defend himself in various cases
SHIMLA: Union law minister Ravi S hank ar Pr asa don Monday said governance is a casualty in the Virbhadra Singh-led government as it’s tenure was marred with various corruption cases.
Pr as ad, who addressed a press conference in Shimla under Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ‘Hisab Maange Himachal Campaign’, said chief minister (CM) Virbhadra Singh exhausted all his legal options but still did not get relief from the court in corruption cases.
“Virbhadra Singh is on bail and governance has become a casualty in the state. It is a serious case of financial improprieties and corruption,” he said.
Referring to the Kotkhai rape and murder case, Prasad said it was the first case in the country, where an IG-rank officer was arrested for the custodial death of an accused.
Prasad also accused the state government of not preparing a detailed project report of national highways. He said the state has been sanctioned 2,623 ki lo metres of national highways, of which, 740 kilometres are under National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), and remaining is under the state’s control.
“Of these 740 ki lo metres, work is under progress for 240 kilome- tres and a detailed project report (D PR) for another 450 ki lo metres is under process. But the state has failed to prepare the DPRs,” he said. For the remaining 50 kilometres, contract has been given for road construction.
“Centre has been proactive in rendering sound financial assist- ance to Himachal Pradesh,” Prasad claimed.
Talking about governance of the Union government, Prasad said, “We opened ₹30 crore Jan Dhan account and linked these with Aadhara nd started disbursing subsidies directly. We saved ₹58,000 crore doing this.”