Munish Sood
MANDI:
The political situation in Himachal Pradesh has heated up once more with fresh talks of “Operation Lotus”. Mandi BJP leader and Balh MLA Inder Singh Gandhi has strongly criticised Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, accusing his government of taking revenge by shifting the Atal Ayurvedic and Research University from Nerchowk in Balh to Sarkaghat.
Gandhi said that if the decision is not taken back, he will go to court and also protest on the streets. “We gave 200 bighas of land for the university in Balh. Even then, the government moved it. We will not let this happen,” he said.
Says Operation Lotus did happen and can happen again
The Balh MLA further stirred the political debate by openly linking the controversy with Operation Lotus. “I had said earlier that Operation Lotus would happen and it did happen. Only a small slip prevented its full impact,” Gandhi declared, hinting that the political manoeuvring could resurface in the state.
In a direct attack at Chief Minister Sukhu, Gandhi remarked, “I still have 32 teeth (a folk belief or superstition that suggests that whatever a person with a full set of 32 adult teeth says is true) — mark my words, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu will never be the Chief Minister again.” He alleged that Sukkhu neither listens to his ministers nor to his own legislators, creating deep discontent within the ruling party.
Calls it ‘a husband-and-wife government’
Targeting the state leadership further, Gandhi compared the functioning of the Sukhu government to the infamous Lalu-Rabri model of Bihar. “In Himachal today, development work is happening only in two constituencies. The state has been reduced to a husband-and-wife government,” he charged.
The MLA reiterated that he has already raised the issue both in the Assembly and before the media. He warned that if the government refuses to reconsider the university transfer, the BJP will launch a statewide agitation against the Congress.
