Commenting on the statement of State BJP In-charge Balbir Punj that party’s central leadership soon would submit a charge-sheet to the President of India against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh besides demanding his resignation, cabinets ministers advised BJP to first seek explanation from Prem Kumar Dhumal and his MP son Anurag Thakur what they have to say on their involvement in many cases of corruption like illegal land purchases, HPCA scams, Bemloe Construction, Phone Tapping Case etc.
Cabinet Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Forest Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri, Industries Minister, Sudhir Sharma, Urban Development Minister, Prakash Chaudhary, Excise & Taxation Minister and Anil Sharma, Rural Development Minister, in their joint statement said that involvement of Dhumal has been established in these cases and why should not be asked to resign from the post of Leader of Opposition. They said that if there was any substance in their allegations, why BJP leaders were refraining away from going to Lokayukta, which was an appropriate forum to file their complaints.
Congress leaders claimed that the chargesheet prepared by the BJP has no substance and this is only a game plan to counter the charge-sheet submitted by the Congress Party to the President of India against the previous BJP government in the State. The inquiries in to the Congress charge against the various cases of corruption including land scams, undue favours to the outsiders and HPCA cases is nearing completion which has created a panic in the Dhumal family, they claimed. Fearing a legal action, Prem Kumar Dhumal and his sons are playing a foul play to involve Virbhadra Singh in false cases and malign his reputation. The Dhumal family is trying to create pressure by personally attacking the Chief Minister in the media by levelling unsubstantiated and baseless charges.
The Ministers said that perhaps BJP doesn’t believe in democratic values. By raising such useless and unsubstantial demands, its leaders are downgrading the democratic values. They claimed that Virbhadra Singh is the most popular and mass leader of the State.
Cabinet Ministers said that Dhumal has become habitual of levelling false and frivolous allegations against Virbhadra Singh but every time he has come out clean. Recently, the High Court has dismissed the plea of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association to implead Virbhadra Singh as no merit was found in their plea. This decision has vindicated the fact that the Dhumal family is resorting to cheap tactics in personally targeting Chief Minister just to divert attention from their misdeeds. But they will never succeed in their ulterior motives and will have to face the consequences for their involvement in various scams and wrong-doings.
The Ministers also welcomed the decision of the Court of Municipal Corporation, Shimla to demolish the illegal constructions at HPCA’s Academy at Lalpani. The HPCA had illegally set up three structures in the green belt area without permission. They said that despite rejection of map, Anurag Thakur raised the illegal structures at Lalpani which shows he had no fear and respect for the rule of law and the BJP government headed by his father, ignored and supported the unlawful activities of the HPCA.
They accused that HPCA has become land grabber which tried its best to illegally get hold of various valuable properties for setting up cricket academies which reflects the business intentions of Anurag Thakur in the name of cricket. He was allotted lands worth crores at various places in the State in a planned manner on lease of just one rupee and later converted the HPCA from a society to a company. In order to take full control of the HPCA, he changed the constitution of the Association and added 26 life time members with right to vote.
They maintained that instead of sheltering Anurag Thakur, the BJP leaders must ask him why two Associations were registered in the name of HPCA and what was need to register one Association at Kanpur.
The Congress leaders believed that the people of the State know well who their real well-wisher was and who was trying to befool them to safeguard their vested interests. They claimed that people of the State will again give a befitting reply to the malicious propaganda of BJP against Virbhadra Singh in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
