Clever move by Nadda to stay in the race for CM: Virbhadra

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, November 24

Union Minister for Health JP Nadda has made a calculated move to keep himself in race for the post of Chief Minister of Himachal by demanding his resignation. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said this while addressing public rally at Jwalamukhi today. He was reacting to the statement of Nadda yesterday in which he had demanded Virbhadra Singh’s resignation in view of the CBI case registered against him.

It is for the first time that the Chief Minister has attacked Nadda. Earlier he had just been targeting the former Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal and union minister for finance Arun Jaitley for case registered against him.

He said that even the Central leadership of the BJP had stooped very low and Central leaders were involved in carrying out political vendetta against him. The cases were being pushed against him by state BJP leaders along with a Union leader. “I call them (BJP) to invite the FBI or other investigating agencies in order to probe the case if they are interested in doing so,” he said.

Attacking former CM PK Dhumal, Virbhadra Singh said, “When Dhumal became the CM for the first time, I was Leader of Opposition. He had problem on that too. He framed false Sagar Katha case against me. Second time when Dhumal became Chief Minister he implicated me in CD case. I was acquitted by the courts both the times.”

CM announced upgrade of Jwalamukhi Civil Hospital. The Chief Minister said that he was not new in politics. “I have been in politics since 1962 but had never seen politics stooping so low. Earlier, politicians used to attack their opponents in a dignified way by using soft and decent language but now derogatory language is being used.”

He said that the state had made rapid strides in all sectors as far as development was concerned. The successive Congress governments deserved credit for that. In the field of education Himachal was ranked second after Kerala. More medical colleges were coming up in the state, besides the existing two medical colleges and hospital at Shimla and Tanda.

He threw open Sub Divisional Police officers’ office and the office of Assistant Engineer of State electricity board limited at Jwalamukhi.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of a stadium at Jawalamukhi and the foundation stone of a lift irrigation scheme for Panjiyara village in Jwalamukhi worth Rs 1.71 crore that will provide irrigational facilities to 50 hectares of land.

He also laid the foundation stone of a sewerage scheme for Jwalamukhi town and the foundation stone of a multipurpose project, including multi-storey parking and a shopping complex to come up at a cost of Rs 33 crore at Jwalamukhi. The project will be funded by Asian Development Bank.

Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes flayed the NDA government for rising prices of pulses and vegetables. She said that never in the history of the country had the prices of pulses and vegetables risen so high.