No rise in crime, law, order under control: Virbhadra

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 23

The ruling Congress and BJP today blamed each other for disrupting the House. While Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh squarely blamed the BJP for disrupting the house and said that the government was ready for debate on the law and order situation but abusive and unparliamentary language was unacceptable, BJP Chief Whip Suresh Bhardwaj said that if the government was ready for debate, why it was running away from the debate under Rule 67.

Addressing the media persons Singh said, “We also want the culprits in the Kotkhai minor rape and murder case be brought to book and it was me who took the initiative and wrote to the Prime Minister for handing over the case to the CBI”, he said.

The BJP was intentionally making it a political issue and misleading the general public, he said and added that it was only after the provocative speech of BJP leader Narender Bragata that the Kotkhai police station was set on fire and even the personal belongings of police, including the dress, were set ablaze.

“We are concerned about the incident and upgraded the school in the village of the rape victim to senior secondary level but there are other important issues like the death of 264 persons in excessive rains during the current monsoon but the BJP chose to disrupt the proceedings”, he added.

There had been no rise in crime and the law and order was under control, the Chief Minister said. When asked about the uploading of photographs on his Facebook page which triggered vehement protest, the Chief Minister said that his account was being handled by volunteers who deleted the pictures within minutes. He also described the leader of opposition P K Dhumal as a weak leader, who was not able to control its legislatures.

On the other hand, Suresh Bhardwaj said that no one uses undemocratic and unparliamentary language more than the Chief Minister and if the government was ready for debate then why the debate under rule 67 was not allowed.

Who stopped the Chief Minister from giving a statement in the house but he was avoiding speaking himself and authorised Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri to speak on his behalf, he said adding that if the government was sensitive on the issue, it would not have added another debate for discussion and allowed discussion on law and order situation and suspended the question hour, he told the media persons.

As far as the issue of setting Kotkhai police station on fire was concerned, it was the emotions of the general public that broke out spontaneously, he said adding that Suraj one of the accused in the minor rape and murder case died in police custody and the government cannot wash their hands off.

The BJP legislators have not spoken anything unparliamentary and it could be checked in records. The Chief Minister got panicky when the BJP MLAs shouted slogans of ‘Jamanati Chief Minister Nahin Chalega’, he added.

The law and order in the state has worsened beyond imagination and even yesterday a girl was allegedly raped in Sarkaghat. The state government has failed to maintain law and order situation and has no right to be in power, he stated.