Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday accused the Congress government of attempting to subvert the public mandate by allegedly intimidating elected BJP councillors, panchayat representatives and their family members through vigilance inquiries and threats of transfers.
Addressing a press conference, Thakur alleged that the state government was trying to influence elected representatives to support the Congress despite the BJP securing a majority in several urban local bodies and panchayats.
He warned that if attempts to influence elected councillors and panchayat members continued, the BJP would seek legal recourse. “Every BJP councillor is being scrutinised and threats of vigilance cases are being issued to force them to support the Congress,” he alleged.
Thakur claimed that elections to the posts of chairperson and vice-chairperson in nagar panchayats had been held only in places where the Congress enjoyed a majority.
He alleged that the Congress was attempting to capture urban local bodies and panchayat institutions against the people’s mandate. BJP leaders also staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office, alleging horse-trading and manipulation of elected representatives.
The LoP also warned officials against repeatedly postponing elections at the behest of the state government.
“We are preparing a list of Deputy Commissioners and SDMs who, acting on government directions, have not fixed dates for the elections even 27 days after the results were declared,” he said.
Thakur alleged that the Congress government was trying to influence the outcome in Solan, Mandi, Chamba, Kullu and Una by initiating encroachment cases against elected BJP councillors and panchayat representatives.
According to Thakur, BJP-backed candidates had won nearly 70 per cent of the posts of pradhan and up-pradhan in panchayats, while the party had secured victories in three of the four municipal corporations — Dharamsala, Solan and Mandi — where elections were held on party symbols.
Harsh Mahajan hospitalised after collapsing at BJP protest
Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan was hospitalised on Saturday after he collapsed during a BJP protest in Shimla against the alleged delay in holding elections to the posts of heads of urban local bodies. The 70-year-old BJP leader reportedly felt dizzy and collapsed while senior party leaders were addressing the media outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
Party workers and leaders rushed to his assistance and shifted him to a nearby vehicle before taking him to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC). Later in the evening, Mahajan released a video thanking people for their wishes for his speedy recovery. “For the last two days, I have been suffering from diarrhoea, which led to a drop in blood pressure and caused weakness,” he said from the IGMC, where he remains admitted.
