Himachal Pradesh Assembly monsoon session set to be stormy  

Himachal Pradesh Assembly's monsoon session set to begin on September 18, expected to be stormy as Congress and BJP plan to match against each other on various issues. BJP to corner Congress on 'failure' to manage climate-linked events, while Congress asserts relief works were done on war footing.

The monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, set to begin on September 18, is expected to be a stormy one as the ruling Congress and the principal opposition BJP are drawing up plans to match against each other on various issues, including the ‘management and mismanagement’ surrounding adverse climate-linked events in the State.

While the BJP plans to corner the Congress by raising the issue of ‘failure’ of the government in managing the situation on the ground following the recent spells of heavy rains, the Congress, on the other hand, is assertive that the relief works were carried out on a war footing by the State, and instead it is the BJP-led Central government that has been non-cooperative towards the hill State in the time of need.

The monsoon session of the Assembly will end on September 25.

On Monday, the BJP held a meeting of its legislative members in Shimla to deliberate on the issues and strategy for the coming session. Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur told The Hindu that the party would expose the Congress government’s ‘complete failure’ in handling the situation arising out of recent floods, besides raising all public-centric issues in the session.

“The Congress government has totally failed to handle the situation and help the people following widespread floods, heavy rains, cloudbursts and landslides. There has been no coordination between the different wings of the government, which has resulted in chaos. While the people are waiting to be rehabilitated, the government is busy in fake publicity and doing nothing on the ground,” he said.

Mr. Thakur said the BJP would also raise the rampant corruption plaguing the current government, which, he said, was a key reason behind industries leaving the State.

The ruling Congress, however, is confident and prepared to face the Opposition. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the government was making the best efforts to help the disaster victims. He again urged the BJP-led Centre to declare the calamity triggered by widespread and heavy rains in the State as a national disaster.