Other States - Himachal Pradesh   

Decentralise power, Virbhadra advised

Staff Correspondent

Suk Ram delivers what could be his "last budget speech"

SHIMLA: Former Union Minister Sukh Ram on Tuesday advised Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to decentralise power and alter his way of functioning as the head of Government.

"Repeat run"

Taking part in the general discussion in the State Assembly on budget proposals for the new financial year, he said the Congress Government was going to have a repeat run in Himachal and for the over-enthused BJP it would again be "a slip between the cup and the lip". But for this to happen, the Chief Minister should give more powers to his younger ministers and scrutinise their performance, said Mr. Sukh Ram in his long, emotional address, which he said "could be my last budget speech".

Recalling his earlier stints as Union Minister of State for Defence, Civil Supplies and Telecommunications, the veteran Congress leader said he had concentrated only on "politics of development". And he had received accolades for it from none other than the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had repeatedly congratulated him for bringing about a telecommunication revolution in the backward hill state.

Expressing his concern at the increasing debt of the State, he said fiscal management requires a combined effort by all and only then a revolutionary approach towards development can be adopted.

"Cement mafia"

He also cautioned the State Government against the "cement mafia" which he said was flowing into the hill state like the infamous "coal mafia" of Bihar. The recent spurt in the number of cement plants in the hill State was a matter of concern, he said. "Giving Rs. 20-25 crore to finance elections in the State is no big deal for them, but then they ruin the environment of the area forever," he added.

Firebrand BJP MLA Mahendra Singh cited various statistics to prove his charge of deliberate discrimination practised by the Congress Government against the lower or newly merged areas of the State.

Animal Husbandry Minister Harsh Mahajan said it was a great pro-people budget presented by an experienced Chief Minister. The reading of various letters written by some BJP MLAs against corruption in their own Government led earlier by Prem Kumar Dhumal agitated the Opposition benches. He gave comparative statistics of both Governments on development and claimed that all veterinary graduates in the State had been given employment. A total of 140 veterinary doctors and 775 pharmacists had been taken in recently by the Government, he added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Decentralise power, Virbhadra advised

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu