Cong MLA accuses HP govt of giving preferential treatment to influential people amid lockdown

A Congress MLA on Tuesday accused the Himachal Pradesh government of adopting double standards by allowing influential people to move to their native places whereas ordinary Himachalis have been left stranded in and outside the state amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Kinnaur MLA Jagat Singh Negi claimed around 300 residents of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur's home district Mandi were sent to their native places from Kinnaur in special Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses about a week ago.

On the contrary, hundreds of Kinnaur residents are stuck in various districts of the state and outside in Chandigarh, Delhi and Varanasi but curfew passes are only provided to those who are close to the ruling BJP government, he alleged.

"I had provided a list to the chief minister on March 23 about several stranded people of Kinnaur district, including 67 people who are stuck in Varanasi but no arrangement has been made to bring them back," he told PTI.

Negi also said stranded children of Kinnaur Superintendent of Police Saju Ram Rana had been brought from Delhi about a week ago.

Refuting the charges that the government is adopting double standards, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand told PTI that about 300 horticulture labourers stranded in Kinnaur for about two months had been sent to their native places in not only Mandi but other districts too, including Shimla and Kullu.

He said those stranded should contact the DCs of those districts.

Regarding SP's children, Chand said they were issued interstate curfew pass on April 13 so that they could come back from Delhi.

Meanwhile state police spokesperson Khushal Sharma said,"As per SP Kinnaur, his cousin was murdered in Parwanoo. Therefore the children were brought from Delhi on emergency pass. They were residing at Delhi's Karol Bagh area which is not a red zone.