Ahead of the lok Sabha elections, vendetta politics seems to be is at its peak in Himachal Pradesh despite the fact that no party has benefitted from acts of vendetta against political opponents.
If this time at the epicenter of vendetta politics is former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son and BJP MP Anurag Thakur headed Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), then during previous BJP Government regime time it was the infamous audio CD case against the now Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
In 2003, when Congress came back to power similar attempts were made by the then Government to bring all the sports institutions under its control bringing in a legislation indirectly targeting HPCA. The attempt failed. Congress Government headed by chief minister Virbhadra Singh had in 2005 introduced HP Sports (Registration, Recognition and Regulation of Sports Association) bill, which was challenged in the court and was later repealed by the BJP Government after coming back to power in 2007-08.
Despite serious allegations levelled by then Congress Government against HPCA and BJP for patronising the controversial cricket association people of the State voted for saffron party with thumping majority in 2007. Though remaining in controversies, HPCA, since Anurag Thakur was elected president of the association in 2002, has brought laurels to the State by first constructing the scenic Dharamshala International Cricket Stadium in record time and the second successfully hosting of IPl matches and ODI bringing the state into the map of International Cricket.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has always remained in controversies during the previous BJP regime, with vigilance bureau probing the case of audio CD allegedly containing voices of chief minister and his wife and some bureaucrats dealing with industrialists for money. Singh had to resign from the union cabinet last year after the charges were framed against him in a local court but eventually was acquitted in the case.
Now with Congress coming back to power, first the previous BJP Government came under scanner in the mass scale phone tapping case which the Chief Minister alleged that his rooms were bugged and phones of his family members were tapped and secondly the focus shifted once again to HPCA again headed by Thakur.
Several allegations tumbled out against Virbhadra Singh during the last year Assembly elections like alleged payoffs of kickback while he was Steel Minister, fudging of Income Tax returns but despite that people voted Congress back to power. The recent allegations against chief minister and his wife are of securing of loan from a private individual.
History of the State suggests that no party has repeated the Government in past three decades and vendetta politics which has taken centre stage in past one decade has not yielded much result to any of the party in power but has only smeared the face of public representatives. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh maintains that he is not indulging in any mudslinging or vendetta politics and would not like otherwise peaceful Himachal Pradesh to become Tamil Nadu or Punjab, where one party exposes or other by indulging in vendetta politics, when in power.
However, BJP is currently crying foul after the State Government on Saturday midnight ‘coup’ cancelled the lease and took over control of HPCA controlled properties. Meanwhile, amid allegations and counter allegations in ongoing battle of vendetta politics between two major parties, people’s interest and developmental indices like education, health and welfare, which were USPs of Himachal Pradesh, is gradually taking a backseat.