Himachal CM claims BJP govt plundered coffers under HIMCARE oppn leader dares him to order probe

Shimla, Mar 13 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday accused the previous BJP government of plundering the state's coffers under HIMCARE and alleged that Rs 350 crore was squandered on private hospitals, triggering a protest by saffron party MLAs.
    Replying during a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's Address, the chief minister also said 9.5 lakh people went out of state for treatment, causing a loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the state exchequer.
    Sukhu claimed his government cleared liabilities of Rs 190 crore and spent Rs 306 crore on the Mukhya Mantri Himachal Health Care Scheme (HIMCARE) during the past two years.
    Enraged by the charge, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur interrupted Sukhu and alleged that wrong data was being presented and dared the government to institute an inquiry into the expenditure under HIMCARE.
    "The Congress government is in power for the past two years and the chief minister is now saying that it is not able to pay for HIMCARE and presenting wrong statistics," he said and asked Sukhu to order a probe and take action against those found guilty.
    The former chief minister also dared Sukhu to tell the House how many people had got treatment under HIMCARE, alleging that patients were dying without medicines.
    Following this, BJP MLAs left the House for a second time.
    After the BJP legislators had left, Speaker Kuldeep Pathania said they had no justification to leave as the members were afforded adequate time.
    Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan introduced a motion condemning the BJP's action and said the party was nervous and unable to reconcile itself in the role of opposition.
    Sukhu declared that his government would "shut all doors of corruption" and function in a transparent manner, adding there would be no shortage of funds for development.
    He also accused the BJP of launching a targeted social media campaign to tarnish his image and claimed the CID had identified 19 such cases.
    Sukhu further slammed the previous BJP government on the drugs menace, claiming it did not implement the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act despite 'chitta (adulterated heroin)' entering the state.
    The Congress government formed an advisory committee to implement the law in April 2023, he said.
    He claimed properties of the drugs mafia in Nurpur had been demolished and 300 other assets amassed from its trade identified.
    Properties of drug paddlers worth Rs 25.42 crore have been seized and two of eight constables found involved in 'chitta' trade dismissed, Sukhu said.
    The chief minister also alleged that the Thakur-led BJP government diverted 15 per cent of temple funds for cow shelters, drew Rs 15.70 crore for the chief minister's relief fund, and the Chintpurni Temple Trust spent Rs 35 crore for welfare work.
    The BJP government granted 50 per cent concession to women in state-run buses during the election year, putting a burden of Rs 730 crore on the exchequer, Sukhu said.
    He also denied claims that 1.50 government jobs had been scrapped.
    Sukhu alleged the Centre had cut the state's borrowing limit, which was Rs 16,352 crore in 2022-23, to Rs 12,176 crore last year.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)