Kangra district admn cites security, capacity constraints at Zorawar Stadium; BJP alleges political obstruction
Sunil Chadha
Dharamshala: Tensions are running high between the Congress government and the opposition BJP in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the saffron party’s December 4 rally in Dharamshala, with both sides locked in a dispute over the venue.
The BJP has sought permission to hold its state-level protest at Zorawar Stadium in Dharamshala, barely a few hundred metres from the Tapovan Vidhan Sabha complex where the winter session is underway. The government, however, is learnt to be unwilling to allow the event at the site, citing capacity, security and traffic concerns, and has instead asked the BJP to shift the rally to the larger Police Ground, located about 4 km away.
According to officials, Zorawar Stadium can accommodate no more than 4,000 people, while the Police Ground has no such limitation. The Kangra district administration has also flagged the heavy VIP movement around the Assembly during the ongoing session and referred to its “adverse experience” of traffic chaos during a past gathering of the Swaran Samaj Sangathan —an upper-caste group that held a massive protest at Zorawar Stadium during the previous BJP government.
The BJP, however, insists the government is deliberately blocking its protest, which is aimed at highlighting what it calls “three years of Congress misrule”.
BJP accuses govt of ‘attempting to hide’ public anger
Addressing a press conference in Una on Monday, BJP state president Dr Rajeev Bindal said the Congress government, completing three years in office on December 11, had “no achievements to celebrate”. He termed the period one of “total administrative collapse”, marked by rising crime, unemployment, mounting debt and deterioration in education and health services.
Bindal alleged a spike in incidents of theft, extortion and firing across districts — from Una to Chamba and Kangra to Kinnaur — claiming the law-and-order situation had “collapsed”. He further accused the government with taking huge loans without using them for public welfare, and of abolishing nearly 1.5 lakh government posts, leaving youth “betrayed and jobless”.
On the education front, Bindal criticised the introduction of English-medium instruction up to Class V without teacher training, the weakening of the School Education Board and the closure of around 2,000 schools. He also alleged severe decline in healthcare, pointing to stalled Ayushman benefits, the near-closure of Himcare and shortages of medicines in hospitals.
Congress prepares Mandi event as BJP readies Dharamshala show of strength
The BJP chief questioned the Congress’ decision to hold an event (to mark three years in power) in Mandi, originally billed as a celebration but now renamed a “rehabilitation programme”, on December 11 when thousands of disaster-hit residents were still living in temporary shelters. Calling the government’s plan “insensitive”, Bindal said the BJP’s December 4 protest would “show the government a mirror of its failures”.
He reiterated allegations of nepotism, “friends’ government” and weakening of transparency, while accusing the Congress of misleading the public with promises such as Rs 1,500 monthly allowances for women and assured permanent employment. Bindal challenged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to call fresh elections if he believed the BJP was divided.
