Health scam dominates Himachal BJP meeting

SHIMLA: Corruption in the health department and the slow pace of development amid the Covid-19 pandemic dominated the discussion at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature meet in Shimla, which was convened to draw up a strategy to counter the opposition Congress after it escalated its attack on chief minister Jai Ram Thakur.

The meeting held at the government-run Hotel Peterhoff on Wednesday evening lasted four hours. Thakur faced a volley of questions from BJP legislators over issues, including the bribe for health equipment scam that triggered the exit of Rajeev Bindal as state BJP chief after his name was dragged into the controversy. Thakur reiterated that the party is clean and said that his government has zero tolerance for corruption as legislators repeatedly sought clarification from him on Bindal’s resignation.

“If the party has nothing to do with the graft case being investigated then why did the state president resign? The resignation has sent out a wrong signal,” a BJP legislator at the meeting said. Some even favoured

Bindal’s reinstatement.

Most legislators were keen that the party appoint the new party chief at the earliest. The names of former Naina Devi legislator and acting president Randhir Sharma, the chief minister’s political secretary, Trilok Jamwal, and Kangra Cooperative Bank chairman Rajeev Bhardwaj were discussed.

RESUME DEVELOPMENT GRANT: MLAS

Legislators expressed concern about developmental works coming to a standstill due to the coronavirus crisis. They called for resuming the development grant that has been stopped since the pandemic broke out.

A few legislators referred to the chief minister’s helpline, saying “it’s rather proving to be a boon for Congress workers who call up to complain about the works initiated in constituencies. Consequently, the officers take cognizance and works are stopped during these corona times,” said another legislator.

Thakur focused his address on the steps taken by his government to combat Covid-19. He highlighted the efforts to bring back more than 1.8 lakh stranded people of the state in other parts of the country.