BJP rejects chief minister's charge on non-cooperation

Himachal Pradesh BJP has rejected the charge of the Chief Minister that it did not cooperate with the government during past three years and said that the party always acted in the interest of the country, rising above party politics, in and outside the Vidhan Sabha.
Dubbing the remarks of chief minister Virbhadra Singh as expression of frustration due to failure on all fronts, the state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti said that the "BJP is committed to give cooperation to the government in the larger national interest".
Alleging that the funds allocated for several schemes lapsed due to carelessness and casual approach of the government which failed to utilised the funds, Satti said the Centre had committed Rs 640 crore under skill development programme but the government indulged in "favoritism, nepotism and corruption" and out of Rs 100 crore given as first installment only Rs 13-crore could be spent.

Terming the statement of chief minister on spread of Jaundice in Shimla as disappointing, Satti said that "while thousands of people are suffering with jaundice and many lives have been lost, chief minister is comparing the outbreak of disease on a large scale with minor ailments like cough and cold".
"The government has no achievement to boast and this is the reason that instead of organising some function at the state level, the chief minister chose to address a press conference to list his achievements", Satti said.
He asked the chief minister to name any scheme launched by the state government in which central assistance wasnot sought.

The chief spokesman of the BJP, Ganesh Dutt also dismissed the claims of spectacular development of the state during last three years and said that "No doubt the state has made rapid progress but in fact the corrupt people and those involved in scams have progressed more".

"The Mafia rule has extended to every corner of the state, law and order situation has deteriorated and developmental works have suffered but the chief minister is blaming the BJP for its failures on all fronts," he said.
Asserting that the BJP was discharging the responsibility of main opposition in best possible manner, Dutt said that a major achievement of the government was that "jaundice" has reached every home.

The Congress had promised to give government job to at least one person in every family in its manifesto in 2012 elections and also promised employment allowance to the youth but fooled the youth by introducing the skill development scheme, Dutt added.