HAMIRPUR: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday inaugurated 13 municipal corporation shops near Rani Jhansi Park here and laid the foundation stone for the Municipal Corporation office building in the Town Hall premises.
Addressing a public gathering on the occasion, the Chief Minister announced that 15 kiosk owners (khokhaharaks) have been provided with permanent kiosks. He added that the Hamirpur Municipal Corporation office would be built on the lines of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.
The Chief Minister also shared that directives have been issued to shift the Directorate of Education office to Hamirpur, with the Deputy Director of Hamirpur instructed to identify suitable land for the purpose.
Taking a veiled dig at former Union Minister Anurag Thakur without naming him, Sukhu said several leaders frequently visit and claim credit for the medical college.
“If they got the medical college approved, why is it named after Congress leader Dr. Radhakrishnan? Why didn’t the BJP name the college after one of their own leaders?” Sukhu asked. He challenged the BJP leader to account for his 20 years in politics and explain what he has done for Hamirpur and Himachal Pradesh.
The Chief Minister added that the medical college will be shifted to the under-construction campus in Jolsapper within the next one to one-and-a-half months.
Further targeting the opposition, Sukhu remarked that Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur failed to build an airport in Balh but is now making tall claims of development under the “double engine” government.
Sukhu claimed that the state BJP is currently fractured into five factions, with its leaders fighting among themselves.
“The BJP currently has 28 MLAs, but they will not even manage to win 16 seats in the upcoming elections. The BJP is not going to win the assembly polls,” Sukhu said, adding that even if they won by mistake, Jai Ram Thakur might have to settle for the post of Assembly Speaker. He asserted that the public would never vote for those who plundered the state’s resources. He also accused BJP leaders of running a “shop” to distribute certificates of Hinduism to the Congress.
Speaking on the monsoon situation, the Chief Minister stated that there has been no major rain damage in the state so far, except in Kinnaur, where Cabinet Minister Jagat Negi is personally monitoring the arrangements.
Addressing land possession issues, Sukhu announced that if landless people occupying government land—amounting to two biswas or one marla—cannot have their possessions regularized, the government will lease the land to them to secure their livelihood. He noted that the Cabinet had also decided on a policy to regularize certain encroachments on government land during its meeting last month.
