Shimla: Supporting the Anna Hazare campaign for a stronger Lokpal bill, BJP here said that the party would ask the state government for making the Lokayukta more stringent to combat corruption.
Taking exception to opposition congress for embarking on a ‘Padyatra’ (protest march) on Monday, BJP state president Khimmi Ram told media persons on Monday that it was ironic for a party facing grave corruption charges and protests by civil society groups led by Anna to even speak about corruption.
He said that BJP would ask the government to empower the state Lokayukta on the lines the central government enacts the Lokpal bill for the party was strong anti corruption institutions.
Congress was only using the protest march as a diversion tactic for they have no reason to give out about the discrimination the UPA government is meeting out to the BJP ruled Himachal government.
Firstly the industrial package for the state was arbitrarily cut short, then the states quota of rations was reduced and even recruitment to the armed forces were reduced after a population based quota system was introduced, he said.
He said that congress after demanding a judicial inquiry about permissions granted under section 118 of land laws and its violations in the last Vidhan Sabha was now back tracking.
The government has appointed a judicial commission and it was the congress government that between 2003-07 granted as many as 2088 permissions under section 118 that need to be investigated. The BJP government in near four years has only given 1337 such permissions.
The BJP state president also defended the government for opening private universities saying that it brought higher education closer home as students from the state had otherwise to go to far of places for seeking it.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
