Pained by Opposition’s allegations, says Thakur

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 10

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that he was pained at false and frivolous allegations levelled by the Congress against his government in house today,

While speaking in the house, the Chief Minister said that he has been accused of threatening the Opposition. “Threatening someone is not in my basic nature. I can be accused of anything but trying to intimidate someone”, he said.

“There has been generational shift in the state politics after the last Assembly elections. I have tried to start a new era in state leaving behind the politics of witch hunting. Earlier, the first step that the state governments used to do was cancelling the projects started by the previous government and registration of cases against the Opposition”, the CM said.

“Despite the fact that the BJP had submitted a chargesheet against Congress while in the Opposition, I have not made it my sole agenda to follow”, he said.

Defending the allegation of allotting land at low rates to Patanjali trust of Baba Ramdev, the Chief Minister said the land had been allotted to the trust as per the rules adopted by the previous Congress government in 2016. No rules and regulations have been violated in the allotment of land, he said.

He said that trust was allotted land by the BJP government in 2009. The Congress government after coming to power cancelled the land lease against which the Patanjali trust moved court. The previous Congress government struck an agreement with Patanjali trust that if they withdrew the case in court, an agreement would be reached with them regarding allotment of land. The trust withdrew the case but the Congress government kept on lingering over handing over the land to Patanjali trust.

The present government has allotted land to Patanjali trust as it would create a lot of direct and indirect employment avenues for the residents of the state. The trust would promote growth of medicinal plants in the state and open up ayurvedic hospital and para medical staff training centres at the allotted land, the Chief Minister said.

About the allegation of the Opposition regarding two helicopters taken on lease by the current government, the Chief Minister said that the present government has taken helicopters on lease from the same company that was providing facility to state during the stint of previous Congress government at lesser rates. He said that helicopter was necessary as it saved time. “I have visited 60 out of 68 Assembly constituencies in the last one year. The union ministers visiting the state have also been provided the facility” the Chief Minister said.