Kalia lashes out at Shanta over CPS appointments

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 21

Lashing out at senior party colleague Shanta Kumar for double standards over the quashing of appointment of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs) in Punjab, BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia today asked Kumar why he had not raised his voice on the appointments when he was the state BJP incharge.

Kalia, in a letter posted on his Facebook wall, has asked Kumar that while he has applauded the quashing of CPS appointments by the High Court, why he did not oppose the appointments if they were wrong.

The post, supported by documents was written in response to an article written by Kumar in a Hindi daily on August 15 this year.

“His dubious nature is evident from the fact that while he has welcomed the decision, he himself had appointed two CPSs when he was the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh from 1990 to 1992,” alleged Kalia.

Kalia ‘tagged’ a letter of the then Financial Commissioner of Himachal Pradesh written during Kumar’s tenure as CM in 1991 where he granted permission to the Kangra Divisional Commissioner under “special circumstances” for exchange of a chunk of private land owned by Kumar’s son Vikram Sharma with that of a government land located at a prime location.

“I would like to ask Shanta Kumar as to what were the special circumstances under which the land rules were relaxed for his son and he was allotted a prime government land in exchange of his private land,” asked Kalia.

He said Kumar was yet to reply to his allegations regarding embezzlement of party funds up to crores during the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.