CM Sukhu working with spirit of revenge: Jai Ram Thakur

Shimla, Dec 18 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is working with the spirit of revenge, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday.

"Politics in 'devbhoomi' (Himachal Pradesh) has always been about development and not about settling personal scores but the chief minister is adamant on harassing the former Congress leaders and independent MLAs who left his side," the former chief minister said while addressing a press conference here.

"I just want to tell him (CM) that the path he is treading is neither good, nor will its consequences be good. He may trouble the BJP MLAs for some time, but power is not permanent," Thakur said.

He said the chief minister is harassing all the former Congress and independent MLAs who have left the party, and false cases are being registered against them.

Nine MLAs -- six Congress rebels namely Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto and three independent legislators Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh and K L Thakur -- had voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan during the Rajya Sabha polls in February 2024.

These legislators had later joined the BJP and contested bye-elections and only three out of the nine -- Sudhir Sharma, Ashish Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal -- were re-elected.

Thakur said the police is registering a case of illegal mining against the Hamirpur MLA, even though the Mining Department has not filed any complaint, and the complaint is being filed by an officer against whom the MLA has made allegations in the Assembly and has also filed a complaint with the DGP.

For the past 10 days, our MLA is being called to the police station and harassed by being made to sit there all day, he alleged and added that in cases of illegal mining, action is taken by the Mining Department and the complaint is also filed by the department but in this particular case of the BJP MLA, the police themselves have become the complainant, he said.

A series of cases were being filed against KL Thakur and his family out of "political vendetta and false cases" are being registered against Rajendra Rana and his family, he alleged.

He further alleged that the chief minister is conspiring against Lakhanpal, acting contrary to the dignity of his office and has "crossed all limits" to implicate Sudhir Sharma, a former minister in the Congress government. After no irregularity or violation was found in the measurement of the MLA's house, the Public Works Department has been ordered to conduct a valuation of his property, he said.

Cases have also been filed against Chaitanya Sharma and his father, and they are summoned and made to sit at the police station for hours under the pretext of questioning, he said. PTI BPL MNK MNK