The leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh and former Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal, made a hard-hitting attack on Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh alleging that the tenure of two years of Congress rule in the State had brought the economy of the hill State on the brink of bankruptcy.
He said this happened as the State exchequer was burdened by indulging in extravagance and unproductive expenditure by raising an army of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons comprising defeated and rejected persons loyal to him.
Without naming anyone, Dhumal said a retired bureaucrat and confidant of Virbhadra Singh, was firing shots and was the de-facto Chief Minister of the State in the wake of failing health of the Chief Minister.
He alleged this man was tapping the telephone numbers of many dissident Congress men, politicians and even bureaucrats. “We, the Opposition leaders are not bothered about telephone tapings as we openly criticise the Government from different platforms," he added.
He said the telephone tapping of Virbhadra Singh style was blatantly flouting the provisions of The Indian Post and Telegraph Act, under which the approval of the Secretary Home was mandatory.
"But the Raja had forgotten that he was no more a hill ruler, but a Chief Minister in a democratic set up," Dhumal added.
He said over the last two years, Virbhadra Singh was settling his personal scores at the cost of the exchequer.
Talking to The Pioneer at the Circuit House, later, he lamented that when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was awarded Bharat Ratna, Virbhara Singh hurried to praise him for his contribution to Himachal Pradesh forgetting that immediately on coming to power his Government hurled disrespect on him by renaming various projects named after him.
"The same Virbhadra Singh could not dare to make even a humble protest before Sonia Gandhi when special economic package granted to Himachal Pradesh was abruptly withdrawn by Congress-led UPA Government," the BJP leader said.