Himachal ex-BJP chief post on social media creates flutter
Bindal had stepped down on May 26 when the state health director was arrested in a bribery case
SHIMLA : Rajeev Bindal, who quit as state BJP chief on May 26 after his name surfaced in the bribery scandal involving Dr Ajay Gupta, then Himachal director, health services, created a buzz in party circles with a cryptic social media post on Monday night, saying the BJP and the Jai Ram Thakur government should introspect on what they have lost and what they’ve gained.
“Bharatiya Janata Party nay kya khoya kya paya va BJP sarkar nay kya khoya kya paya, iska akalan karna chahiye (The BJP and the government should analyse what they have gained and what they’ve lost),” Bindal, a five-time MLA, wrote on Facebook and Twitter on Monday night. He is incommunicado since then.
State unit chief Suresh Kashyap, who has cracked the whip on dissidence in the past fortnight, refused to draw any inference from Bindal’s Facebook and Twitter posts, dismissing them as “Bindal ji’s personal views”.
“Whatever Bindal ji has posted are his personal views. He has expressed his opinion on social media not on any party platform,” said Kashyap, who represents Shimla in Lok Sabha.
Less than four months after being appointed state unit chief, Bindal had stepped down when health director Dr Ajay Gupta was arrested by the vigilance bureau for irregularities in the purchase of equipment.
Audio clip voice samples match Meanwhile, the voice samples of the audio clip of the conversation between Dr Gupta and Prithvi Singh, an employee of a Punjab-based medical equipment supply firm who is also behind bars, have matched. In the clip that was on social media in May, Dr Gupta is heard demanding ₹5 lakh for clearing personal protective equipment (PPE) kit orders .
Investigators had sought information from the government on whether Bindal had recommended extension to Dr Gupta, who was due to retire on June 30. The vigilance team could not find any evidence.
Reaching out to sulking leader Meanwhile, Bindal’s successor Kashyap is trying to quell dissidence. More than half a dozen squabbling leaders of the state BJP’s Mahila Morcha were divested of their responsibilities recently. BJP general secretary in-charge of Shimla parliamentary constituency Purshottam Guleria has been assigned the task of holding consultations with Bindal, who has been sulking since chief minister Jai Ram Thakur did not induct him into his cabinet even though he was unanimously elected Vidhan Sabha Speaker later.