A visibly jittery BJP government in Himachal Pradesh has gone back on its statement on legalising cannabis cultivation, a major election issue in the hill state.
Within hours of issuing an official statement on Tuesday that, like Uttarakhand, a proposal on cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes can be examined by Himachal Pradesh, the government took a step back by withdrawing it.
The subsequent note did not find any mention of cannabis cultivation.
The statement quoting Chief Secretary B.K. Agarwal said "the Israel Embassy is already pursuing a proposal with the government of Uttarakhand on development of cannabis for medicinal and hemp purposes".
"A similar proposal can be examined by Himachal Pradesh for controlled cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes and cultivation of low psychotropic content cannabis for hemp production," it said.
The note mentioned that a meeting of senior government functionaries led by Agarwal was held with the Ambassador of Israel Ron Malka in New Delhi to discuss issues related to state's Global Investors Meet to be held in Dharamsala in September.