BJP members stage walkout from Himachal Assembly over denotification

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, January 4

All BJP members, led by the Leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, staged a walkout from the House on the first day of the Winter Session of the 14th Himachal Vidhan Sabha here today. They walked out in support of their demand that the Congress government should review its decision to denotify 900 offices and institutions opened by the previous BJP government since April last year.

However, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu refused to review the decision saying that the previous BJP government had opened these institutions and offices without providing staff and infrastructure. Every decision would be reviewed independently later and, if required, offices could be reopened, he added.

Thakur said that it was unfortunate that in less than one month of the Congress forming government, the people of the state were holding protests. Sukhu retorted that people had made the BJP government, which had opened offices, sit in opposition. He also presented a list of offices that he said were opened without providing staff and infrastructure.

As soon the session began, Thakur raised the issue of the closure of offices and institutions. He said that it was unprecedented in Himachal’s history that while the new government was yet to form its Cabinet, it had denotified the decisions taken by the previous Cabinet. The BJP members joined Thakur and started shouting ‘Tuglaki Farman Nahi Chalenga’.

Protem Speaker Chander Kumar tried to pacify the Opposition members saying that today’s business of the House was just to administer oath to all MLAs and they could take up the issue after the Governor’s Address tomorrow. The Opposition members led by Thakur were unrelenting and demanded that the government should rescind its decision to denotify 900 offices and institutions. However, they allowed the oath-taking ceremony of the MLAs to take place.

After oath taking, Sukhu said, “The Congress has come to power to change the system of governance. The previous BJP government had opened 900 institutions, including schools, and announced the upgrade of schools, hospitals and offices without providing proper infrastructure.

Unsatisfied with Sukhu’s reply, the BJP members walked out of the House, raising slogans against the state government.

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