S Gopal Puri
Dehra: Senior BJP leader and former Himachal minister Bikram Singh Thakur launched a scathing attack on the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government, accusing it of deceiving the state’s unemployed youth with its newly introduced job trainee policy.
Addressing a press conference in Dehra, Thakur condemned the policy as a “betrayal,” stating that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who earlier served as Leader of the Opposition, had publicly promised permanent government jobs until the age of 58 before the last election. “Now the same leaders are replacing employment with mere training schemes. This is an open deceit of the 12 lakh unemployed youth of the state,” he said.
Thakur warned that if the government failed to reconsider its decision, Himachal’s youth would be “forced to take to the streets.” He alleged that the state administration was being misled by a coterie of “ministers, officers, and friendly influencers,” leading to growing instability and public unrest.
The former minister also raised concerns over the forest department’s inaction on the issue of illegally transported timber. “It’s been over a month, and no action has been taken against any officer. Why? Because the culprits are close to the government,” he alleged.
Slamming the government’s move to introduce a ₹10 registration fee at government hospitals, Thakur accused the Congress of burdening the poor. “After hiking the minimum bus fare to ₹10, now they are charging the sick for registration slips. This is not welfare governance—it’s taxation of the underprivileged,” he said.
Thakur ridiculed a recent youth convention in Dadaseeba, branding it a “middle-aged gathering.” Taking a jibe at local Congress leader Surendra Mankotia, he said, “The very person rejected by the people is now leading a so-called youth summit. In contrast, BJP rallies witness crowds of 4,000–5,000, while Congress struggles to gather even 150 people, most of whom are not even young.”
He also accused the state water resources department of corruption in awarding the ₹300 crore Finna Singh Dam tender to an inexperienced company by removing competitive joint venture clauses. He called the move a “violation of the Constitution’s spirit of equal opportunity,” and claimed that pressure was being exerted on senior officials to favour certain players.
“The people of Himachal will not forget or forgive. If the government does not reverse such decisions, it will face a strong backlash from the electorate,” Thakur concluded.
