Virbhadra hits out at Dhumal; denies vendetta against him

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today lashed out at Prem Kumar Dhumal, accusing the former chief minister of launching an attack against him, despite CBI giving him a "clean chit".
Talking to reporters at Sujanpur on first day of his three-day tour of Hamirpur district, Singh said, Dhumals were afraid of CBI probe into their properties as proposed by the state vigilance bureau, but he has nothing to fear as all the allegations against him had been probed by the CBI and he has a "clean chit".
Denying any vendetta against the Dhumals, he said that such investigations against charges against previous BJP government were based on the charge-sheet submitted by the Congress, while in opposition, which was adopted as party manifesto and it was wrong and unfair to allege that the government was wreaking vengeance against the political rivals.

"It was during the regime of BJP government led by Prem Kumar Dhumal that cases were framed to settle political scores and political opponents within the party and outside were targeted," Singh alleged.
Singh has been accused of tax evasion, among others, but the chief minister has denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, ruling out any cabinet expansion or reshuffle as of now, the chief minister said that some vacancies were their in the council of ministers and the same would be filled whenever the need arises.

Referring to the controversial issue of location of the central university, Singh said that the main campus of the university would be set up at Dharamsala and there was no question of setting up the campus at Dehra but some campuses or colleges could be located in the adjoining areas.

Reacting to the allegations of BJP MP Anurag Thakur that the chief minister never responded to the letters written to him by the opposition leaders concerning the demands of the people, Singh asked him to verify the facts before making such allegations.
"Anuarg Thakur is still a novice in the political set up and despite advancement of his age, he is yet to mature politically", he alleged.
He also hit out at the central government for ignoring Himachal Pradesh in matter of development and claimed that not even a single penny had been received by the state for development "since the dawn of BJP led government at the Centre".

He gave a call to people to have faith in the policies and programmes of the Congress party and reject the BJP in all coming elections.