Dharamshala: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi accorded a smart city status for Dharamshala but chief minister Virbhadra Singh declaring it as a second capital is not very clear,” said Shanta Kumar, who has been chief minister of Himachal Pradesh on two occasions.
“What does the concept of Second Capital of HP at Dharamshala mean. Will the government appoint a chief secretary and secretaries for all departments who will sit in Dharamshala throughout the year or for six months is also not clear,” said the senior BJP leader.
When asked that if BJP comes to power in Himachal after the elections slated for the end of the year, whether the party would take back the decision of second capital, Shanta said, ”We are not clear about its concept , we will see to it.”
He said that lower areas of Himachal were in Punjab before 1966 and were included in Himachal under the Re-organisation Act and accordingly Shimla was setup as the only capital. A similar act is required to declare Dharamshala the second capital of the state or not is the matter to be followed.
He added, ”Dharamshala was given the status of smart city by Modi ji’s government and released crores of rupees for it, but State government is not releasing the matching amount .”
Talking to reporters Kumar ruled out there being any political space for a 3rd party in Himachal. “BJP and Congress will have straight fight in this years assembly poll in Himachal.”
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
