TNR Desk
Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP’s Leader of Opposition in Assembly Jai Ram Thakur has complained to the State Election Commission alleging violation of model code of conduct in the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government’s rollout of the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana that would provide a monthly Rs 1,500 grant to women aged 18 to 60 years.
This is the first complaint of model code violation in Himachal where elections to four Lok Sabha seats and bypolls to six Assembly constituencies are scheduled for June 1. Thakur said the BJP had lodged a formal complaint with the State Election Commission, highlighting the alleged distribution of forms to entice voters with a promise of ₹1,500 per month.
Thakur, who also addressed the media after submitting a complaint to Himachal Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg, alleged that the ruling Congress was resorting to deceptive tactics to garner public support. He alleged that the Congress was engaging in grand promises and announcements during election season, only to conveniently forget these post-elections.
Thakur emphasised that similar forms had been distributed before the previous Assembly elections, yet the promised benefits were not provided. He criticised the Congress for its failure to fulfill the 10 guarantees made in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly elections, particularly highlighting the unmet promise of providing Rs 1,500 per month to women aged between 18 and 60 years. He said the government had failed to make any budgetary provisions for the scheme in the recently passed annual budget.
Chief Electoral Officer Garg said that the BJP had mainly made two complaints, demanding that the distribution of forms for the grant should be immediately stopped and the scheme should not be rolled out from April 1, and that hoardings highlighting the scheme should be taken down.
