Discontent in Himachal over Congress policies, BJP to form govt: Jai Ram Thakur

Dharamsala, April 2

Former Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma, who has joined the BJP and is a party candidate for Dharamsala byelections, today claimed that 650 Congress workers had joined the BJP today. A function was organised here today in which Congress workers joined the BJP. Former CM Jai Ram Thakur was present at the function.

‘No sitting office-bearer joined BJP’

• Former Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma claimed that 650 Congress workers had joined the BJP on Tuesday. A function was organised here in which Congress workers joined the BJP. Former CM Jai Ram Thakur, he said, was present at the function
• The Congress has, however, refuted the claim. Minister for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Chander Kumar said that none of the sitting office-bearers of the party had joined the BJP

Jai Ram Thakur, while addressing the Congress workers, who had joined the BJP, said that the BJP would form the government at the Centre as well as in Himachal. The BJP would win all the byelections as Congress workers and leaders were angry at the ‘dictatorial polices’ of CM Sukhvinder Sukhu. The Congress MLAs had left the party as their constituencies were being ignored and ground level workers were being sidelined by the Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur alleged.

Former Chief Minister also alleged that when Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was party president in the state he used to criticise the then Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for ignoring the elected MLAs. Now that he has himself become Chief Minister, he was following the same policies due to which his party has faced a rebellion. He also alleged that the Congress had failed to fulfil any of its guarantees given in election manifesto and had imposed taxes on the people.

While speaking at the function, Sudhir Sharma said he had been raising the voice of Dharamsala for the past more than one year. “I had been telling the Chief Minister to release funds for allocating land for the north campus of Central University Himachal Pradesh but he had been firmly opposing it,” he said.

On its part, the Congress has refuted the claims that Congress workers have joined the BJP. Minister for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Chander Kumar, in a press conference, claimed that none of the sitting office-bearers of the party had joined BJP.

Chander Kumar termed Sudhir Sharma and other six MLAs who quit the party and joined BJP as traitors. He said that it was Congress party that had made Sudhir Sharma an MLA and then a minister. Now he has quit the party as he could not be accommodated as a minister.

Chander Kumar claimed that the people of Himachal would punish the rebel Congress MLAs during the forthcoming byelections. The Congress government was stable and would compete its five-year term, he said.