Shimla : Himachal Pradesh former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Monday thanked assembly members and Pro-tem speaker for recognizing him as the Leader of Opposition in the 14th Himachal Pradesh Assembly.
Taking to Twitter, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Hindi said, "Heartfelt thanks to the Pro-tem speaker and other members of the state assembly for appointing me as the Leader of Opposition in the assembly. Fulfilling this important responsibility well, I assure you that I will take up all the issues related to the public on priority."
on Sunday after being elected as the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Thakur lashed out at the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government, saying that it would face uncertainty. Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh is running a Bandh Express government alleging that the institutes that were opened are now being closed in a big way.
The BJP leader said the swearing-in of the government has also not taken place at the right time. "The present government is a government of Bandh Express. So far the government has not been able to form a cabinet. This is the first time in history that undemocratic decisions are being taken without a cabinet meeting. The Governor has also complained about it so that it can be reported. It should be sought whether the government has such a right. Due to the closure of the cement plant, the employment of 30,000 people has been put in jeopardy. Due to the closure of the factory, development work has come to a standstill," he said.
Thakur said that it has been less than 15 days since the formation of the government and in this period only the closing of plans and institutions was noticed.
He said various institutions were closed and the cement factory was also closed. The government reserves the right to review but it was unconstitutional to close the offices that have been completed.
Thakur said in 2017 when the BJP formed the government, it had taken a vow not to work with a sense of revenge, which was fulfilled, but this government crossed all limits and closed all the institutions.
Attacking the Congress government over the election promise of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), the former CM said, "Congress had promised to give OPS in 10 days but after 15 days the cabinet has not been formed. The matter of the JOA IT paper leak has come to the fore. Media advisors appointed by the government are making big statements even though they do not have the right to do so. Will
the Congress government conduct a CBI inquiry into the matter of paper leak," said Thakur.
Thakur said that the Chief Minister is moving in one direction, Deputy Chief Minister in another direction and MLAs in another direction. "If Mission Lotus happens, we will not be the reason for it. The government will remain under uncertainty," he added.
Earlier in the day, a delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by the former chief minister and the newly elected Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly called on Governor Rajendra Vishwanatha Arlekar and submitted a memorandum against the Congress government for denotifying the previous government's decisions.
Former CM Thakur was unanimously named the leader of the BJP Legislature Party at a meeting in Shimla. He was later appointed the LoP in the 68-member Assembly. After the Congress won a majority in closely fought Himachal Assembly polls, securing a total of 40 seats to the saffron party's 25, Sukhu took oath as the new CM on December 11. The former leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Mukesh Agnihotri, took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state.