Munish Sood
Mandi
CM rejects Opposition’s “wasteful expenditure” charge, says new Secretariat office is an institutional facility for every future Chief Minister; signals imminent Cabinet expansion and reshuffle of ministerial portfolios
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday turned the inauguration of the new Alarjali Phase-II building into a larger political statement, strongly countering the BJP’s criticism of the ₹20-crore expenditure on the new Chief Minister’s office while announcing that his Cabinet would soon be expanded and ministerial portfolios reshuffled.
Sukhu rejected the argument that the new facility represented unnecessary expenditure, saying the building was not being created for any individual but for the institution of the Chief Minister. He stressed that successive Chief Ministers, irrespective of which party forms the government, would use the facility.
The new building, located within the Secretariat complex, now houses the offices of the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary. Around 15 rooms have been made operational, while work on other portions of the building is continuing. There are also plans to accommodate ministers’ offices in the complex.
Sukhu turns BJP’s “waste of money” charge back on Opposition
The BJP’s criticism of the ₹20-crore project has centred on whether such expenditure was necessary when the government already had an operational Chief Minister’s office.
Sukhu’s counter is that the expenditure should be viewed as an investment in a permanent government institution rather than a personal facility. He also pointed to the practical problems associated with the earlier arrangement, including space constraints and difficulties faced by people coming to meet the Chief Minister.
By locating the office inside the Secretariat, the government expects administrative coordination to become easier and interaction with people seeking appointments or raising grievances to be more systematic.
The Chief Minister also referred to the traffic restrictions that were sometimes required when he travelled to and from the earlier office. Shifting the office to the Secretariat, he said, would help reduce such disruptions.
“Not for one Chief Minister, but for the office”
Sukhu’s response was aimed at directly countering the political narrative that the government had spent ₹20 crore merely to create a new office for the incumbent Chief Minister.
His argument is that governments may change, but government institutions remain. The facility, therefore, would be available to whoever occupies the Chief Minister’s post in the future.
The Opposition, however, has questioned the necessity of the expenditure, keeping the issue alive as another point of political confrontation between the Congress government and the BJP.
Cabinet expansion and portfolio reshuffle coming soon
The Chief Minister also made a significant political announcement, saying that the Cabinet would be expanded soon and portfolios of existing ministers could also be reshuffled.
While Sukhu did not reveal the names of possible new entrants or indicate which ministers could get new responsibilities, his statement has revived speculation about changes in the government’s political and administrative structure.
The proposed reshuffle could involve both the induction of new faces and redistribution of important departments among existing ministers.
Kishau becomes another flashpoint with BJP
Sukhu also responded to criticism over the Kishau Multipurpose Project, reiterating that his government had not compromised Himachal Pradesh’s interests.
The Chief Minister said his government had firmly placed the state’s interests before the Centre and other participating states during negotiations over the project.
The agreement involving Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi was signed on September 15. The project is proposed on the Tons river in the Himachal-Uttarakhand border region.
Sukhu has maintained that the present arrangement protects the financial interests of Himachal Pradesh and avoids commitments that could have placed an additional burden on the state.
The project has now become another political point of contention, with the Congress government highlighting the benefits of the latest arrangement and the BJP questioning aspects of the government’s handling of the issue.
One inauguration, three political messages
Monday’s programme therefore carried significance beyond the opening of a new government building.
Sukhu used the occasion to push back against the BJP’s attack on government expenditure, defend the ₹20-crore Secretariat facility as a permanent institutional asset, and signal changes in the composition and functioning of his Cabinet.
With the Chief Minister himself confirming that the Cabinet expansion and portfolio reshuffle are imminent, attention will now shift to the timing of the formal announcement and the changes that eventually emerge.
At the same time, the new CM office is likely to remain a political talking point, with the BJP questioning the expenditure and Sukhu arguing that the facility is an institutional requirement rather than a personal luxury.
The coming weeks could therefore see both an administrative reshuffle and an intensification of the political debate over government expenditure and policy priorities in Himachal Pradesh.
