Ruckus in Himachal Assembly over transfer orders issued by govt

Tempers ran high in the Himachal Assembly during the Question Hour today as the opposition Congress accused the government of not giving out the correct figure of employees it transferred after assuming office.

Replying to a question by Congress's Harshwardhan Chauhan and Rajinder Rana, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said the present BJP government had transferred 2,177 employees (from December 27, 2017, to February 15, 2018), which it said was less than the previous Congress government.

Thakur said the previous government had transferred 1,23,652 employees during its five years' rule. It had transferred 29,642 employees in 2013, 16,775 in 2014, 19,457 in 2015, 25,889 in 2016, and 31,879 in 2017 respectively, he added.

"The government has transferred thousands of employees in this period, and more than 2,000 transfers had been made in the police department alone. The figure of 2,177 given by the government did not include data of many departments, where transfers were done despite a ban," Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri said.

He said there was an environment of terror in the constituencies as the government had started ordering transfers immediately after taking over.

Harshwardhan Chauhan asked that whether the government intended to bring an Act to regulate the transfers.

The chief minister, however, said Congress members were unnecessarily shouting over the issue. "There is some shake up normally after a change in government and it should be taken as a routine exercise," he said, and questioned the moral right of Congress members to oppose the government on this issue.

He asserted that the government had given the factual figures and the allegations the of opposition were misplaced.

Replying to another question of Balbir Chaudhary (BJP), Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virender Kanwar, who also holds the Animal Husbandry portfolio, said the government proposed to make cow sanctuaries in the state to tackle the problem of stray cattle.