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HomePoliticsTaking 20-yr-old Alto to assembly, meeting public on morning walks, Himachal’s Sukhu...

Taking 20-yr-old Alto to assembly, meeting public on morning walks, Himachal’s Sukhu is ‘common man’s CM’

There was much buzz Tuesday as Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu arrived for his first budget session as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister in his ‘old’ Alto car.

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Shimla: As the white hatchback pulled into the Himachal Pradesh assembly premises Tuesday, it triggered an immediate buzz. Among its passengers, after all, was Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

When he was sworn in as CM in December 2022, Sukhu made headlines for his humble roots. He is the son of a Himachal Road Transport Corporation driver, and once ran a milk counter in Chotta Shimla.

Bringing his Alto for his first budget session as CM was to Sukhu an acknowledgment of — and a toast to — his journey.

A human being, he said on Twitter, should never forget their past, no matter what high posts they attain.

Speaking to the media at the assembly, Sukhu said he had been using the car since he became an MLA in 2003. “This reminds me of my old days,” said Sukhu, adding, “Ham vyavastha parivartan karne aaye hain (We are here to change the system).”

Sukhu is the fourth CM of the Congress in Himachal after Yashwant Singh Parmar, Ram Lal Thakur and Virbhadra Singh, the erstwhile royal scion of Bushahr state who served as CM for six terms and was the Congress’ face in the state for four decades.

Sukhu is a four-time MLA. In his three months as CM, he has done much to project himself as a man of the masses.

This includes his government’s first major decision, which saw him withdraw the privilege of subsidised rent and food that ministers and MLAs got at Himachal Bhawan, Himachal Sadan and other rest houses in and outside the state.


Also Read: Driver’s son, once a milkman — Congress ‘firebrand’ Sukhvinder Sukhu is Himachal’s new CM


‘Still the same man’

Like most Himachal politicians, Sukhu is a product of student politics. His electoral innings began in 1992, when he got elected as a municipal councillor during his early days in the Congress.

People close to him say he never left any of his old friends.

“Sukhu bhai and I have an old association. He became a councillor, then MLA and now CM, but I have noticed no change in his behaviour,” said Sudhir Azaad, a former councillor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

“When he was [state] party president from 2013 to 2019, he listened to the common worker. Once a few Congress workers complained to him regarding some personal work. He took up the issue with the then CM Virbhadra Singh,” he added. “He kept the party active and workers charged.”

Former Chotta Shimla councillor Surender Chauhan is a Sukhu admirer too.

“Sukhu bhai is a common man. He hasn’t changed a bit even after becoming the chief minister. This quality makes him different from other politicians.”

A couple of days ago, some viral pictures of the chief minister showed him interacting with local residents while out on his morning walk. No security cover in sight, he was accompanied by state advocate general Anoop Rattan.

Shiv Kumar, a shopkeeper based in Shimla town, said he was surprised to see the chief minister roaming on the city roads without security.

“At first glance, everyone might have ignored him because there was no security with him. He was just like you and me roaming on the road,” he added.

On 11 March, Sukhu walked up to his office from his official residence at Oakover nearly a km away, leaving his convoy behind.

There are other instances too.

During a tour to Bilaspur district on 25 January, he made a stop at the popular Bahadur Ka Dhaba of Bagi Banaula to have their famous Makki Ki Roti and Maah Ki Daal. As he ate, he was seated with his staff as well as other customers.

“This is not the first time I have come here,” he said. “I am a regular visitor to this famous place. I am CM now, but this does not stop me from behaving like a common man, [which is] what I am.”

State’s grim finances 

As CM, Sukhu has his task cut out, as he himself admitted the state’s dire financial situation in the House Tuesday.

“Every Himachali is under a debt of Rs 1 lakh,” said the CM in the assembly, where proceedings started on a rough note.

As the House convened for the first day of the budget session, the BJP submitted a notice of adjournment, accusing the state government of stopping the final instalment of the MLA local area development (LAD) funds for the current fiscal.

Former chief minister Jairam Thakur, now the leader of the opposition in the assembly, said the last instalment was pending, and delaying it would affect developmental work promised to constituents by MLAs of not just the BJP, but other parties too.

To this, the chief minister replied that the state was reeling under the grim finances.

“We are managing our finances and [are] committed towards public welfare,” he added. “We have not suspended the MLA LAD grant but stopped it for sometime,” said the chief minister, adding that this was not an important enough issue to suspend the business of the house.

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)


Also Read: Who are India’s richest & poorest CMs? Who has most guns? Election affidavits have all the answers


 

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