Protests inside and outside Assembly: Congress targets Centre over disaster funds

The third day of the winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on Friday witnessed intense political confrontation and sloganeering with the Congress and BJP MLAs staging parallel protests and creating uproar both outside and inside the House.

Before the proceedings began, Congress MLAs held a demonstration at the Assembly Gate accusing the central government of withholding financial assistance to the hill state. Congress MLAs alleged that despite the announcement of a Rs 1,500-crore disaster relief package, the Centre had not released the funds.

The ruling party members accused the Centre of adopting an indifferent attitude towards Himachal. They said that stopping financial aid was an attack on the state’s rights.

In the House, the opposition BJP stalled the Question Hour with continuous sloganeering. Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram insisted on discussing the issues pertaining to the demands of government, semi-government employees and ex-employees. Speaker Kuldeep Pathania assured him of time later, but BJP MLAs entered the Well of the House and disrupted the proceedings. With the ruckus continuing, the Speaker adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, BJP MLAs staged a separate protest outside the Assembly, terming the Sukhwinder Sukhu government “anti-employees”.

BJP MLAs alleged delay in the release of gratuity to retired employees, irregular payment of medical allowances, and neglect of other employee-related issues.