BJP submits memo to Guv, seeks Cong govt’s dismissal

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 30

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders led by former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and state president Satpal Satti marched to the Raj Bhawan today demanding the dismissal of Congress regime and judicial probe into the yesterday’s ‘attack’ on party activists by Youth Congress members outside its state headquarters.

BJP leaders submitted a memorandum to acting Governor Kalyan Singh at the Raj Bhawan and demanded that in case Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh did not step down on moral grounds, the Governor should dismiss the Congress government. The BJP leadership also demanded that a judicial probe be ordered into the incident in which over a dozen of their party members received serious injuries. Accusing Vikramaditya Singh, state Youth Congress president and son of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, of leading his activists, the BJP demanded that he along with other guilty be arrested immediately.

They also accused the police of not taking any action to avert the clash and on the contrary lathicharging the BJP activists.

“The attack on the BJP office and its workers by Youth Congress activists is a big setback to democratic norms and is being condemned not just by other parties but even Congress leaders,” said Dhumal, while addressing party workers.

He said everyone has the right to lodge their protest in a democracy and if the ire of Youth Congress was against the Centre the protest should have been held outside a Central government office. He said the attack was part of a pre-planned conspiracy and the police deliberately did not act. Satti condemned the attack and said the BJP would not tolerate this kind of goondaism.

He asked Virbhadra to act in an unbiased manner and take action against his own son who was leading the violent mob of party workers. BJP activists also held a demonstration outside the Deputy Commissioner’s Office against the clash.

BJP planned clash to gain political mileage: Cong

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee today condemned the clash between State Youth Congress activists and BJP workers and said the party does not believe in violence. State Congress chief spokesperson Naresh Chauhan said the BJP leaders, it seemed, had planned the incident to gain political mileage by playing victim to disrupt the proceedings of the upcoming Budget session of the state Assembly. 

He said the Youth Congress workers under its president Vikramaditya Singh were staging a peaceful protest at the BJP office in Chakkar as the per the nationwide call given by the All-India Youth Congress to protest against the Land Acquisition Ordinance."It appears that the BJP is trying to create an issue out of it and it was for this reason that their workers resorted to stone throwing in a pre-planned manner on the Youth Congress workers who were holding a peaceful protest," Chauhan said. He said Vikramditya had informed former CM and Opposition leader PK Dhumal about the protest and had promised him of a peaceful demonstration. He said the BJP leaders seem to be perturbed over the inquiries initiated by the state government as per party's chargesheet. — TNS