BJP stages walkout over Kangra bank giving funds to Dehra mahila mandals

BJP legislators walked out of the Assembly here today alleging that the state government was deliberately not replying to a question raised by them. They walked out of the House when Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that the information on disbursement of funds to mahila mandals in the Dehra Assembly constituency by Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) Ltd was still being collected.

Hamirpur MLA Ashish Sharma had sought information about how much money was disbursed to the mahila mandals in the Dehra Assembly constituency between June 1, 2024, and July 10, 2024. Expressing dissatisfaction over the response, Sharma said gathering information in the digital era wasn’t difficult at all. He then proceeded to provide information he had sought from the House, giving details of the grants that the bank allegedly gave to several mahila mandals between June 1, 2024, and July 10, 2024.

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that the government was trying to hide information on important questions by stating “information is being collected”. He alleged that the model code of conduct was in force in the Dehra Assembly constituency when the bank is said to have disbursed the money. “Can money be disbursed when the model code of conduct is on?” asked Thakur. Would the government provide the information sought by Sharma during this session or not, he said.

Speaker Kuldeep Pathania said that the protest of the BJP legislators was uncalled for and against the rules. He, however, asked Ashish Sharma to table in the House the information he had gathered and assured him that the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat would investigate the matter. Agnihotri, meanwhile, said that information was being collected from the bank and would be provided as and when the government receives it. “We also did not get a reply to many of our questions when the BJP was in power,” said the Deputy Chief Minister.