Shimla, Mar 22 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Wednesday witnessed heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition benches following Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh’s announcement of scrapping the ‘Jan Manch’ scheme of the previous BJP government.
BJP members trooped to the Well of the House, raising slogans, and Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.
Trouble started when the minister, replying to a question by the Congress’ Sanjay Rattan, informed the House that an expenditure of Rs 5.34 crore was incurred and 258 Jan Manch were organised by the BJP government from June 3, 2018 to May 1, 2022.
He said 45,726 complaints were received and 43,821 grievances were redressed while 1,905 cases were pending and the government would stop the programme.
Reacting to the minister’s reply, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said the programme was aimed at redressing the grievances of the public at their doorstep. He also urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to reconsider the decision of scrapping the scheme.
Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said it was the government’s right to continue or discontinue any scheme and pointed out that Rs 2.71 crore was spent only on food for BJP workers. Narrating his own experience at a Jan Manch, he said a case under section 506 of the IPC was registered against him for raising issues faced by the people.
Thakur said closing everything was not a solution and the system cannot be changed for one person’s bad experience.
Sukhu said a new scheme would be put in place in which employees and officers would be given due respect and problems of the people resolved.
The BJP members then started raising slogans and entered the Well of the House, leading to the adjournment. PTI BPL IJT
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