Himachal Pradesh CM misleading House on job data, says Jairam Thakur

Shimla, Aug 20 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh, Jairam Thakur, on Wednesday accused the state government of misleading the House by lying in the name of providing jobs.

"This will not be tolerated under any circumstances. What could be a worse situation for this government is the fact that whatever the Chief Minister says cannot be believed," BJP leader and former Chief Minister Thakur told the media after BJP lawmakers staged a walkout from the Assembly.

They accused Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of not providing correct information on the number of jobs given by his government.

Describing the BJP's protest as uncalled for, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said it would not go on record.

"The Chief Minister lies while standing in the House, and also while standing on the road," Thaur said.

He said the Chief Minister "lies even on a day of national importance like Independence Day.

"The Chief Minister also lies in response to questions asked in the Assembly in his address. The Chief Minister had reneged on the promise of giving one lakh jobs in the first Cabinet meeting and 5 lakh jobs inside the Assembly itself," Thakur said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly said that the government "lied" in the House on Wednesday.

"In the figures given by the government in the Assembly, it had said in 2024 that 34,980 people were given jobs. One year after that, the Chief Minister says on the occasion of Independence Day that he has given 23,191 jobs to the youth of Himachal Pradesh. What does the Chief Minister want to talk about? How did the number of jobs that he had given in one year fall short by 11,000? The Chief Minister is lying at such a level that it is difficult to even imagine," Thakur said.

"The words of the Chief Minister have importance. He should always speak after weighing his words," the BJP leader said.

Thakur said that Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu sacked more than 15,000 people as soon as he came to power.

The Chief Minister abolished more than 1.5 lakh posts in one go.

The Leader of Opposition also condemned the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and called the incident extremely sad and shameful.

"This kind of behaviour with public representatives cannot be accepted in any civilised sense. Strictest action should be taken against the accused. This will send a clear message to society," the BJP leader added.

--IANS

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