The Congress government has been continuously in the dock in Himachal Pradesh, with one political and administrative shocker after another coming to the state over the last 23 months of its rule.
While the government and the state are taking much time and energy to solve the complex issues arising from various lapses, this gives the BJP every reason to play on the front foot as an opposition party.
The latest embarrassments being the High Court’s decision to set aside the appointment of six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries last week and then attaching the government’s premier property- Himachal Bhawan, Delhi- earlier this week for allegedly faltering in a case pertaining to payback of Rs 64 crore upfront premium to a hydropower company.
While the CPSs issue, wherein even the 2006 Act under which they were appointed has been quashed, is more of a political challenge, the attachment of property, that too Himachal Bhawan, Delhi, has reflected badly on the government's administrative efficiency.
Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, however, said the government would study and look into this matter. The BJP has strongly termed it a government's failure to defend the state's rights.
“It is a sorry state of affairs in Himachal under Congress rule. The government is bringing embarrassment to the state at the national level with one or the other lapse and mismanagement.
Himachal Bhawan is the pride of Himachal Pradesh in the national capital. It is like a second home for the people who go from Himachal Pradesh to Delhi.
The government failed to take up the case in the court properly. If such a situation continues, our state secretariat and other prime buildings will also be attached by the court in the coming days,” said Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur. He said the government is taking one after another step, which runs into controversy at the national level, whether it was the toilet tax or the samosa inquiry.
Authoritative sources said the state government, which decided to challenge the HC order on appointments of CPSs last week, will now have to approach the Apex court in the matter of Himachal Bhawan too.
Even as Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is personally prioritizing the things that need redressal in the system in Himachal Pradesh, right from service delivery to the vision for governance and development, the Congress government’s slogan of ‘Vyavastha Parivartan’ (change in the system) has still not picked much in public, mainly due to too much centralisation of even routine matters, which has resulted in unnecessary delay in administrative matters.
“It is ‘Vyavastha Pattan’ (end of system),” said Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur.
All said and done, despite many good decisions by the government in the welfare sector, the government will have to work much on the public perception in 23 months of rule.
“We don’t mind facilities for orphan students or children of single mothers. The government is spending on them as a welfare measure.
But no vacancies are being advertised by the government for the educated unemployed youth who come from normal backgrounds despite tall promises in the polls. The same government is offering re-employment to retired people,” rue a cross-section of unemployed and under-employed youth.
More so, the politically literate people in this small state feel that the Congress government wants to change things on all fronts top to bottom, without being the need of it in many cases, and this is a sheer waste of time and energy of the government machinery and even public money.
More so, the Congress government’s changing stances on the financial condition of the state, first holding that the state was in financial crisis with the Centre not helping the state with funds and then saying that there was no financial crunch and that the salary of employees was delayed for four days as a part of financial prudence in September month, is also not being seen in positive light.
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