Shimla, Aug 1 (IANS) Taking a jibe at the “cash-strapped” Congress government in Himachal Pradesh over lifting on the lotteries after over 20 years, BJP state chief Rajiv Bindal on Friday said the government came to power on the promise of providing one lakh permanent jobs but now “it’s pushing the unemployed towards lottery addiction”.
“It seems the unemployed will not prepare for the exam but will put their lives at stake,” he said.
Former Cabinet minister Bindal claimed that when the BJP will “come to the helm in the state, it will take roll back such decisions”.
“In 1998, when Prem Kumar Dhumal became the Chief Minister, he banned the lottery. In 2004, the Congress government started the lottery and in 2007, then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh again stopped it,” he said.
The state Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, on Thursday decided to restart the operation of lotteries with an eye to annually generating Rs 100 crore revenue.
Bindal said the state has become a hub of alcohol, “chitta”, “bhang” and now lottery.
“Under the helm of the Congress government, liquor shops have been opened on the land belonging to the Public Works Department. If a person sells corn there, he is fined,” he said.
The BJP leader said an “oppressive government is running in Himachal Pradesh whose job is to file FIRs (first information reports) and chargesheets. Any government employee who raises his voice against the government is booked, transferred, or a file is opened against him. Cases are filed against those who come out on the streets against the government. False cases are filed against political rivals. The biggest example of this is the FIR filed is in Sirmaur.”
He said in Thunag in Mandi district, false cases of treason were filed against 72 people whose families, homes and lands were lost in the disaster.
Bindal said the BJP would organise a protest against the government in Mandi town on August 6.
He said the Congress government would have to tell how much money they have spent under the state head for relief and rehabilitation after natural calamities.
“According to our information, from 2022 to 2025, the government has spent only Rs 150 crore, in contrast to the fact that the Central government has given Rs 7,513 crore. Now, on the request of the BJP, the BBMB (Bhakra Beas Management Board) is ready to support Himachal Pradesh during this monsoon disaster, as we have talked to Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar about this,” Bindal added.
–IANS
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