Shimla: With Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections on the horizon, BJP and Congress leaders are hitting out at each other over the ever-increasing loan on the state.
President, Election Campaign Committee and MLA Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday has alleged that Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur led state government is taking loans for its election rallies, while former BJP State President Satpal Singh Satti countered his allegations by saying that whether he asked the same to former CM Virbhadra Singh who took Rs 30,000 crores loan during his tenure.
Sukhu, meanwhile, has alleged that CM Jai Ram Thakur has indebted the state by taking excessive loans. He said that the state government is not taking these loans for public welfare but for its political gains.
“The state government has turned a blind eye to the problems that are being faced by the people of the state. There are no teachers in schools, roads in rural areas are in terrible conditions and healthcare institutions do not have any no doctors and other staff” said Sukhu.
“The government should have spent money on them, but the government is not bothered about it” he added.
“Earlier, Jairam Sarkar had taken a loan of Rs 1000 crore in July. After this, again in August took a loan of Rs 1500 crore. 2500 crore was taken in the month of last September. Now again Jairam government is taking a loan of 1000 crores” said Sukhu.
“People of the state are suffering due to inflation, unemployment and the state government is continuously putting a burden on the exchequer by spending extravagantly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Satpal Singh Satti said that the Congress party, which has become leaderless and issueless, has become so frustrated that its leaders are giving statements that raise questions about their six-time CM Virbhadra Singh.
“If we talk about official figures, from 2012 to 2017, Virbhadra Singh led state government took a loan of Rs 29,522 crores. After his tenure was completed, he left a debt of Rs 47,906 crore on the state.
Satpal Singh Satti has even asked Sukhu why when he was the Congress State President during the Virbhadra government why didn’t he stop the Virbhadra government from taking loans then.
Satti said that Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who was behind Mukesh Agnihotri and Pratibha Singh in the leadership race, is now giving misleading statements to stay in the limelight.
“Earlier, he was distributing tickets on the phone and maybe tomorrow they might form their own government on WhatsApp,” he added.
In between the tussle, both parties are confident and are saying that they will form the government in the state with a full majority by winning the upcoming elections.
