BJP, Cong cross swords over transfers

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 25

The Opposition today tried to corner the government on large-scale transfers of employees on political considerations with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh retorting back with statistics indicating an equal number of transfers ordered during the BJP regime.

It was a question filed by ID Dhiman, Satpal Singh Satti, Mahender Singh and Randhir Sharma which generated a lot of heat during Question Hour in the Assembly.

“The fact that 29,622 transfers of employees were ordered from January 1 to November 30 is a clear indication that the government unleashed political vendetta and targeted employees,” said Dhiman. He added that out of 930 employees, who moved court against their transfers, 806 got relief.

As per the reply on transfers, the total number of transfers ordered by the Congress regime between January 2013 and October 2014 is 46,701.

The Chief Minister said while 3,837 transfers were done on purely administrative grounds, 8,884 were ordered on the recommendations of elected public representatives.

“The recommendations were made not just by Congress representatives but also by the BJP and there was no question of these being made on political considerations,” he said.

He said the BJP during its rule from January to August 2008 had ordered 27,434 transfers which clearly showed that these transfers were a routine by any government. “The statistics make it clear that the transfers are ordered by any government for various valid reasons and not on political considerations,” he said.

He also clarified that the stay imposed by the High Court on transfers being made on the recommendations of public representatives on November 22, 2013, had been struck down by the Supreme Court. He added that such recommendations by the public representatives was nothing new and the BJP regime too had acted on their requests.

Taking strong exception to the transfers being made on the recommendations of chairmen and vice-chairmen in the government, Ravi said some employees leaders too had got mass transfers ordered which was wrong.

Replying to another question by Gulab Singh and Ravinder Ravi on the government’s stand on the ban imposed on animal sacrifice by the High Court, Virbhadra Singh said the reply was yet to be filed in a case pending in the Supreme Court. “An appeal has been filed by Maheshwar Singh and the Kullu Kardar Sangh in the Supreme Court and shortly, we will respond to the Supreme Court directives,” he said.

He said there were two different thoughts on the issue of ban on animal sacrifice. “It has been a part of our hill tradition, but there cannot be an order where there is ban on one community and not on others as all of us know that Muslims too sacrifice goats on Bakr Eid,” he said.

He said on the question of making a trust for the privately managed Ragunath temple in Kullu, the matter was under the consideration of the government.

SIDELIGHTS

Rebel Cong MLAs attend dinner by Speaker
Shimla: Political circles remained rife on Wednesday with the talk of about 12 dissident legislators getting together for a dinner hosted by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Brij Behari Lal Butail at his residence here last night. Though this is not for the first time that the dissident legislators got together over dinner, the informal get together has created political ripples. Sources said three ministers and a few MLAs responded to the Speaker's invitation. "It was just an informal get together since all of us here in the town due to the Assembly session and one should not try to read too much into the dinner," said one of MLAs who attended the dinner. — TNS

State seeks copter from Centre 
Shimla: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Wednesday said the state government was pursuing with the Centre the issue of providing a helicopter to the government so that winter helicopter services to the snow-bound tribal areas of Lahaul Spiti, Pangi in Chamba and Kinnaur could be restored to evacuate people, especially patients. Replying to the issue raised by Lahaul Spiti legislator Ravi Thakur under Rule 62 in the Assembly, Virbhadra said the state leased helicopter from Pawan Hans Helicopters was grounded on March 13 for service. "For emergency evacuation, we requisitioned an IAF helicopter, which developed technical snag on March 21, 2015, and was thus withdrawn by the Government of India (GOI)," the CM said.— TNS