HP govt gives cabinet rank to BJP chief whip, Cong terms it wasteful expenditure
The govt is announcing new offices and projects without budgetary provisions. These will be a burden on state treasury. KULDEEP SINGH RATHORE, HP Congress chief
SHIMLA: The Himachal government’s decision of giving cabinet status to its legislators by elevating them to the post of chief whip and deputy chief whip in the assembly has not gone down well with the opposition Congress which has termed it a wasteful expenditure.
In a statement on Saturday, state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore alleged that despite the poor fiscal health, the state government was making unnecessary appointments.
“With byelections and assembly elections round the corner, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state is making appointments just for electoral gains,” he said. “These appointments will only be a burden on the state treasury, while the government is still taking loans to run its expenses. The government is going on an overdrive. It is rampantly announcing new offices and projects without budgetary provisions,” he said. He further claimed that the state government was turning a blind eye to norms’ violations by tourists, which may ultimately lead to the third wave of the pandemic. Rathore also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He claimed the Congress will win the Mandi parliamentary elections as well as Fatehpur, Jubbal Kotkhai and Arki byelections.