Winter session at Dharamsala to be stormy affair

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, December 9

Dharamsala, the quasi-winter capital of the state, wore a festive look on Sunday as banners, gates and lighting welcomed the legislators, ministers and the Chief Minister for the six-day winter session of the Himachal Assembly starting on Monday.

Most of the legislators and the Chief Minister arrived this evening. Both the ruling BJP and the Congress held a meeting of the legislative groups during the day.

During the session, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will stay at Dharamsala Circuit House. The ministers and MLAs have been housed in various hotels around Dharamsala.

Sources here said with the BJP planning to celebrate completion of its one year in power with a rally at Dharamsala on December 27 that is likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress would try to corner the government on its failures in the last one year during the current Assembly session.

CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri, while talking to The Tribune, said though the state government was planning to celebrate its one year in power, it had failed to deliver on various fronts. He alleged that the schoolchildren had not been provided school uniforms in the last one year. About 8 lakh students had been bereft of the benefit. This was a failure of the state government.

Agnihotri said the land had once again been allotted virtually free to Baba Ramdev.

The BJP had been alleging that the electric buses were purchased at higher prices during the stint of the previous Congress government. However, now the BJP government itself was purchasing low-quality electric buses at higher rates.

The BJP, while in the opposition, had promised permanent jobs to the youth in the state. However, it was now resorting to outsourcing resulting in exploitation of the youth. The party was also making backdoor entry into government departments.

A horticulture project worth Rs1,200 crore that was to be implemented in entire state and a forestry project worth Rs400 crores that was to be implemented in Una district have been shelved, he alleged.

Agnihotri said the Congress would take up these issues in the winter session of the Assembly.

The ruling party, on the other hand, would try to counter the offensive of the Opposition by listing the achievements of the government. It would also try to push through five major legislations in the current session prominent among which include a Bill proposing changes in higher education policy, a Bill for stringent action against narcotic peddling and a Bill for setting up Gau Samwardhan Ayog.

Minister for Education and Parliamentary Affairs, Suresh Bharadwaj said the Bill for setting up Gau Samwardhan Ayog would be discussed in the Cabinet on December 11. It would be taken to the House after that.

BJP MLA from Nurpur Rakesh Pathania has sought discussion on using natural water for irrigation in the state. He would also raise the issue of the impact of NGT decision over not allowing any stone crusher within 100 metres of natural water bodies and purchase of buses by the HRTC in the last 4 years.

Independent MLA from Dehra Hoshiar Singh plans to take up the issue of higher cement prices in Himachal and the issue of tax not been paid by cement companies to the state.

Issues Congress will take up

• CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri said the state government had failed to deliver on various fronts. 
• He alleged that the schoolchildren had not been provided school uniforms in the last one year. About 8 lakh students had been bereft of the benefit. 
• Agnihotri alleged that the land had once again been allotted virtually free of cost to Baba Ramdev.
• The Bharatiya Janata Party had been alleging that the electric buses were purchased at higher prices during the stint of the previous Congress government. However, now the BJP government itself was purchasing low-quality electric buses at higher rates.