HP: Cong walks out of assembly, alleges corruption in holding investor's meet

Congress MLAs walked out of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on the first day of the Winter Session on Monday, accusing the state government of corruption in holding the Rising Global Investors' Meet in November.

Opposing the walkout, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur termed it politically motivated.

The Congress MLAs were led by Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, who alleged that the investors' meet was the biggest ever scam in the state.

They walked out of the House as they were not permitted to use adjournment motion for holding a discussion on the alleged corruption by the state government in organising the investors' meet.

Before staging the walkout, the treasury and opposition benches raised slogans against each other.

While the BJP MLAs raised "Chor Machaye Shor" slogan, the Congress legislators shouted "Ali Baba, Chalis Chor".

Terming the walkout politically motivated, the CM said the government was making sincere and honest efforts to attract investment.

Thakur said even several Congress-ruled states held investors' meet and the money spent by Himachal Pradesh on holding the event was much less than that spent on advertisement for it by some other states.

The investors' meet was held in Dharamshala on November 7 and 8.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presided over the inaugural function.

Earlier, some Congress MLAs led by Mukesh Agnihotri staged a dharna at Gate No.1 of the assembly at Tapovan in Dharamshala as the security persons asked them to enter the building from the main gate.

The security persons told them that they had been directed that only the CM and the Speaker could enter the assembly from Gate No.1.

At this, Agnihotri and some Congress MLAs staged a protest. The Congress MLAs lifted their dharna when the CM and the Speaker said neither of them had issued such directions.