Shimla: Questioning the creditability of politicians at large, Vijay Singh Mankotia, a former congressman in an open letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh has sought an impartial probe by a ‘judge of the highest court’ into his bête noire Virbhadra Singh’s tenure as chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.
After circulating the letter among the media, Mankotia said that ‘let this investigation be an eye-opener for the nation to realize how democracy has been subverted.â€
Holding that the ‘aam-aadmi’s faith in the system was shaken, the former congressman spoke about an alarmingly assertive politician-bureaucrat-criminal nexus, rampant corruption, widening divide between rich and poor coupled with rising prices adding fuel to fire.
Alleging a questionable and dubious conduct of Virbhadra Singh as chief minister, Mankotia let it be known that each time Singh “was appointed chief minister starting from 1983, he achieved the unenviable distinction of leading congress party to defeat.â€
Ruling out his retirement from the arena, Mankotia however said that he would not be part of electoral politics anymore.
Speaking about overtures made by Virbhadra Singh supporters for him to bury the hatchet and join hands, he said the plan which he had out rightly rejected was to float a regional outfit for the 2012 assembly elections.
“Virbhadra has not forgiven the congress party for denying his wife Pratibha Singh the assembly ticket for Rohru, he also holds a grouse about Anand Sharma being made a central minister before he was considered and the former chief minister realizes that a younger candidate would be projected as congresses chief ministerial candidate for 2012 elections, leaving no space for him but to float a regional outfit to make a comeback bid,†said Mankotia.
Mankotia who last resigned as convener of Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) before announcing ‘Sanyas’ from electoral politics also appended a list of all the alleged acts of omission and commission during Virbhadra’s term as chief minister.
The list included alleged theft of suitcase that contained Rs 1.5 crore, allotment of 960 MW project to Brakel and allotment of controversial Himalayan Ski Village project among others.
BJP has no drive to book corruption
Pointing a finger at the BJP government headed by Prem Kumar Dhumal, he said that it had no drive to book culprits even though all evidences had been gathered.
Mentioning the case of drug controller Sher Singh Thakur, he said that media had reported that revoking the suspension of drug controller, who had been caught red-handed by a vigilance team accepting illegal cash, had been carried out despite strong reservations from the chief minister himself.
“Surely there is a Super CM out there who can overreach the reservations of chief minister Dhumal,†he said.
Chandresh Kumari, Anand Sharma rehabilitated in Rajasthan
Drawing attention to the obstacles being faced by thousands of people uprooted because of construction of Pong Dam in Kangra, who were promised irrigated lands along Indira Gandhi irrigation canal in Rajasthan, Mankotia said, “while for the Pong Dam outsees it is still a long struggle to secure their promised lands, two others – Chandresh Kumari and Anand Sharma have joined the bandwagon and have been successfully rehabilitated as political leaders in Rajasthan.â€
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
