Government has criminalised dissent, even targeted girl students, says Jai Ram

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur today accused the Congress government of running a regime of fear, misusing the state machinery and criminalising dissent. It had even targeted girl students for protesting poor food arrangements, he added.

Thakur, while addressing a press conference here, said that the government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had developed a pattern of filing FIRs against anyone who raised his or their voice, be it children, journalists or political opponents. He alleged that recently, girl students were booked under criminal provisions for complaining about not being served food at a government event; it was a new low in governance.

He said, “These girls were made to sit in the sun for hours without food. When they protested, the government responded by filling FIRs. This is not governance, it’s dictatorship. Anyone who speaks out is silenced, families are harassed and social media is used for state-sponsored defamation.”

Thakur alleged that disaster relief funds were being grossly misused. “Of the Rs 5,500 crore provided by the Central Government, only Rs 300 crore had reached the victims. The rest is unaccounted for,” he said, warning that the additional Rs 1,500-crore package approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be used strictly for relief efforts and should not be misappropriated.

He criticised the administrative chaos in the state, saying key positions had been filled by posting officials having additional charge, including the posts of Chief Secretary, DGP, district SPs and the heads of key departments and universities. “This shows the Chief Minister has lost his grip over governance. Even ministers are unhappy with the government but are scared to speak out.”

Thakur warned officers acting as tools of political vengeance that all decisions would be reviewed in the future. “You will not be spared just because you followed orders. Work for people, not for political masters,” he added.

He alleged that a PR agency hired by the state government for the publicity of its works was leading a propaganda on social sites to tarnish the image of BJP leaders in the state by running fake Facebook page accounts. FIRs were registered against such fake Facebook page accounts in Shimla and New Delhi. The party would take legal action against this PR agency and the Chief Minister would also be made party.

Thakur also condemned political violence in West Bengal and blamed the Congress and its allies for creating a dangerous environment for democracy.