Three Congress Ministers — Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma — on Saturday said that so called ‘Badla Badli campaign’ of the BJP was a diversionary tactics.
They said that it was a move to distract public attention from the wrongdoings of its leaders, which were under probe besides creating pressure on the Government officials and investigating agencies. Taking strong exception to the statement of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal wherein he has warned the State Government of consequences, Ministers cautioned the BJP leader against threatening Government functionaries.
They said that the threatening statement of Dhumal was an evidence of his revengeful attitude and vindictive nature. “If he was issuing such venomous threats while being in opposition, one can imagine what he would have been doing to his opponents and adversaries, while he was in power,” said the Ministers. Bharmouri, Agnihotri and Sharma said that ‘Badla Badli Virodh campaign’ was nothing but a desperate attempt to defend the wrongdoings of their leaders and keeping their flock together.
“It was apparent that Dhumal and his family have made the BJP in the State their fiefdom and were using the party cover to hide their misdeeds,” said the Ministers.
They said, “Irked by the dictatorial family show of Dhumal, many prominent founder leaders of the BJP had discarded the party. The people of the State had dumped the BJP in the Assembly elections and thereafter in the Mandi parliamentary election. The BJP was fast disintegrating, which has set the panic button in the organisation.”
“The BJP was a sinking ship struggling for survival. Therefore, its leaders were resorting to unscrupulous campaigns and malicious propaganda against the Government to register their existence,” they said. They said that investigations were being carried out on the basis of the chargesheet submitted by Congress against BJP government, which has been handed over to the Vigilance Department for probe. They claimed that Vigilance Department was conducting free and fair inquiry on the chargesheet and Dhumal should have faith in the investigating agencies and the judicial system.
The allegations of political victimization leveled by the BJP were totally false and baseless. Not even a single case has been registered against any office bearer or MlA of BJP.The Ministers added that the case of HPCA headed by Anurag Thakur is the outcome of the investigation carried as per the orders of the Court on a complaint filed by an advocate. Even other opposition parties had raised the matter of undue favours to the HPCA by the Dhumal Government.
It was strange that the BJP Government could not find land for Central University at Dharamshala but there was no shortage for the HPCA. HPCA was serving more of political, commercial and PR interest of Anurag Thakur than the sport itself, they alleged.