BJP taken off guard

SHIMLA: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s sudden announcement of granting winter capital status on Dharamshala has not just taken everyone by surprise but taken the BJP off-guard as they had been treading a very cautious approach on the issue which has obviously been made to reap political dividends in the election year, notwithstanding the deteriorating financial health of the state.

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 19

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s sudden announcement of granting winter capital status on Dharamshala has not just taken everyone by surprise but taken the BJP off-guard as they had been treading a very cautious approach on the issue which has obviously been made to reap political dividends in the election year, notwithstanding the deteriorating financial health of the state.

Going a step ahead from his earlier decisions of starting winter sojourn of the state government and later holding the brief winter session of the Vidhan Sabha at Dharamsala, the six-time Chief Minister today bestowed the winter capital status on Dharamshala.

Even though it is more than obvious that the announcement has been made with an eye on the Assembly elections due later this year but the main Opposition party, the BJP is not opposing it openly, fearing political repercussions from the biggest and politically most significant district. Having 15 Assembly constituencies, even the slightest disagreement on the winter capital issue could prove to be very damaging for the saffron party, striving hard to make a comeback.

However, now it remains to be seen whether the official tag of winter capital status is for real or a mere half-hearted attempt only to garner votes. Though Dharamsala has a secretariat and a Vidhan Sabha managing the huge finances required for creating the infrastructure which can accommodate the entire bureaucracy, heads of department and the entire government for two months will certainly be a stupendous task.

“The Congress regime is making false and misleading promises to the people with an eye on the elections. The Congress regime has failed to fulfill the earlier promises it made and the people must not trust an outgoing government which has not honoured its earlier commitment of providing jobs and unemployment allowance to the people,” was the guarded statement by former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal.

State BJP president Satpal Singh Satti too said it was an old habit of Virbhadra to befool people with promises, especially in the election year that he never fulfills. “It is for people to decide whether to trust him or not considering that he has not honoured his commitment on providing unemployment allowance,” he said.

Senior Congress Minister GS Bali, while welcoming the Chief Minister’s announcement, said that the he believes in action and does exactly what he says. He said the announcement will come as a big relief to the people of Kangra and Chamba, who have long desired that the government functions from here. He added that the announcement must be meaningful, where all the ministers and bureaucrats shift to Dharamshala for two months.

Former MLA and CPM leader Rakesh Singha termed the statement of the Chief Minister as creating “illusionary hopes” among the people of Kangra solely to reap political dividends. “I would like to ask the CM whether the current financial position of the state permits such a decision which is not for public concern but out of selfish political motives,” he quipped.