CLP leader takes a dig at CM for ‘derogatory’ remarks

Our Correspondent

Una, June 19

Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Mukesh Agnihotri on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur for his alleged remarks against party leaders and against Punjabi-speaking areas of the state. 

Addressing mediapersons here, the CLP leader said the Chief Minister should refrain from making “derogatory” remarks against Congress leaders and should maintain the dignity of the office he holds. 

He said the Opposition would not be cowed down by such bullying tactics of the Chief Minister. The CLP leader added that he was a four-time elected MLA and did not need any certificate of seniority from Thakur.

He said Thakur should not forget that he was made the Chief Minister because their candidate for the post, Prem Kumar Dhumal, had lost the elections. “However I was chosen as the CLP leader by Congress MLAs and the party high command,” he said.

Agnihotri said it was strange that even after six months in office, the CMO had issued a press note stating that Jai Ram Thakur would attend to file work on designated dates and time. He said it clearly showed that the Chief Minister was not attending to regular office work and it was only “a coterie of RSS workers who are running the government”.

 He alleged that Jai Ram Thakur could not take one decision on his own. 

The CLP leader said despite nearly 100 trips of the CM to New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and Union ministers, the state had not received any special financial package.

He termed the recent water crisis in Shimla as the biggest failure of the government. Agnihotri said if the Chief Minister continued to use abusive and threatening language against Opposition leaders, they would pay back in a more powerful tone. 

District Congress president Varinder Dharmani was also present.