Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Government has rubbished the claim of BJP that the Union Government has given 61 new National Highways and termed it a mere political announcement.

Cabinet Ministers Kaul Singh Thakur, Mukesh Agnihotri and Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, in their joint statement, claimed the State Government hasn’t received a single penny from the Centre for these roads and even not approved the estimate of Rs. 170 crore for preparing DPRs for these roads.

Ministers even claimed that “It was in the knowledge of one and all that some BJP leaders were blocking development projects for the State with political motives.”

Congress leaders also snubbed Union Health Minister J.P Nadda for asking the resignation of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and described the statement factually incorrect, misleading and politically motivated. They said

“there was an internal war for supremacy going on in the State BJP and Nadda has his eyes set on the State politics. Therefore, he was issuing such misleading statements just to keep himself alive in the State politics and trying to project himself not for the better interests of the State, but for his personal political motives”

Lambasting the Union Health Minister, ministers said that instead of extending help for the State in health sector, Nadda was making unnecessary hue and cry. They also blamed BJP for wrongly claiming for the initiatives of the UPA government. Congress leaders blamed BJP for unnecessarily staking claims for the three medical colleges for the State in Hamirpur, Chamba and Sirmaur districts. They said the State Government had already identified and transferred 650 bighas of land for setting up AIIMS in Bilaspur and now the delay was on the part of Central Government.

Earlier, Union Health Minister JP Nadda yesterday said the CM should not waste time and resign on moral grounds as there is a case of “blatant corruption” against him.