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Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (R) with BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur arrive to inspect road damaged due to floods, in Kullu. (Image: PTI)
The BJP, which has decided to run a counter campaign against the Congress government, alleged that the CM and his ministers were accusing the Centre of not giving financial aid for rehabilitation and restoration work
Politics over floods continued in Himachal Pradesh even as the hill state, battered by heavy rains, is struggling to limp back to normalcy. A day after chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu sought central assistance to put infrastructure back on track, the BJP has accused the state government of spreading “propaganda” against the Centre.
Senior state BJP leaders said the party has decided to launch a counter campaign against Sukhu and his ministers. They alleged that the leaders of the ruling party have been accusing the central government of not providing additional financial aid for rehabilitation and restoration work necessitated by the widespread destruction caused by rains and subsequent flooding.
The opposition is expected to demand that the monsoon session of the legislative assembly should be convened as soon as possible. These decisions were made at a meeting of the BJP legislature party in Shimla late on Thursday.
Leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur asked BJP MLAs to present the “right picture” before people about the Centre’s financial help to Himachal. Both Thakur and state BJP president Rajeev Bindal said the ruling Congress was politicising the rain disaster, which has caused losses to the tune of crores.
“The state government is playing with the sentiments of the people. First they spoke of 10 guarantees and came to power, and now they are making false promises of flood rehabilitation,” said former industries minister Bikram Thakur.
The BJP will press for the monsoon session to be convened early so that a detailed discussion can be held on the situation arising out of the floods. Party leaders said since the state government did not convene an all-party meeting to discuss the situation, it was imperative that the monsoon session be convened at the earliest.
The saffron camp has accused the state government of pick-and-choose policy in providing relief, a charge trashed by the Sukhu-led government. The alleged slow pace of restoration of damaged roads, especially in the apple-growing areas in the interior Shimla district, was also discussed at the meeting. The BJP is accusing the Congress government of doing politics even during a natural disaster and it is likely to raise the issue during the Lok Sabha elections next year.
The BJP had suffered a setback in the last assembly elections in Shimla district. It won only the Chopal seat while the Congress wrested the remaining seven seats comprising Shimla (urban), Shimla (rural), Kasumpti, Theog, Rohru, Jubbal-Kotkhai and Rampur.
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