Senior BJP spokesperson in Himachal Pradesh Rajinder Rana on Thursday accused Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of trying to silence the Opposition by registering false cases against its leaders.
Talking to mediapersons here, former MLA Rajinder Rana, who crossed over to the BJP from the Congress during the present Congress government's tenure and later lost the by-election, cautioned that those misusing the law for political purposes would be held accountable after a change in government.
Rana said the Panchayat elections were only a trailer and that the full picture would be seen in 2027. He claimed that the Chief Minister had lost support even in his own district and that the Congress was facing a political crisis. He also said Sukhu had earned several "titles" for which he would be remembered by the people of the state.
Rana alleged that the Congress government had borrowed the highest amount of debt in Himachal Pradesh's history. He further claimed that Sukhu had also set a record for registering the highest number of false cases against political opponents out of political vendetta.
He alleged that Himachal Pradesh was no longer being governed by a democratic government but by a "syndicate of favourites". He claimed that a group of individuals with neither constitutional authority nor administrative responsibility had taken control of governance from behind the scenes.
Rana further alleged that taxpayers' money was being spent not on development but on maintaining dozens of OSDs, advisors and politically appointed individuals. He said that during the tenures of former Chief Ministers Dr Y.S. Parmar, Shanta Kumar, Prem Kumar Dhumal, Virbhadra Singh and Jairam Thakur, political appointments were limited. In contrast, he claimed, the present government had appointed a record number of advisors and OSDs, placing an unnecessary burden on the state exchequer merely to provide political patronage.
Launching a direct attack on the government's financial management, Rana alleged that while Himachal Pradesh took several decades after attaining statehood to accumulate its earlier debt, the present government had borrowed a record amount within a single term, pushing the state towards a severe financial crisis. He claimed that the government was taking fresh loans merely to repay previous borrowings, while development remained absent on the ground. Despite receiving thousands of crores from the Central Government for National Highways, disaster relief and development projects, roads remain in poor condition, bridges are damaged, and people in rural areas continue to struggle for basic connectivity.
Rana also alleged that Himachal Pradesh was witnessing deterioration in infrastructure, education, healthcare and tourism. "HRTC is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, several bus routes have been discontinued, and there are reports of shortages of diesel and spare parts. Employees are facing delays in receiving financial benefits, and pensioners continue to suffer, while the government limits itself to announcements instead of delivering results," he said.
The BJP leader also accused the government of preparing to hand over profitable public assets to private interests. He alleged that revenue-generating hotels of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, as well as important government properties such as Himachal Niketan in New Delhi, were being readied for privatisation.
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