Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday witnessed high drama after BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur staged a walkout, accusing the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government of abandoning disaster-hit people while the Chief Minister was away in Bihar for political campaigning.
Thakur hit out at the government for “criminal negligence” in handling the crisis.
“Entire villages have been washed away, thousands of tourists and locals remain stranded without food or shelter, and there is no communication in large parts of Chamba district including Pangi and Bharmour.
Families do not even know if their loved ones are safe. Roads like Ullu-Manali have been shut for three days, yet the government is missing in action.
Relief is not reaching people, and even basic ration distribution is failing,” he said inside the House before leading the Opposition walkout.
He accused the government of downplaying the severity of the disaster.
“Ministers are making false claims that roads have been cleared and everything is fine.
Let them explain how people stuck in Bharmour, Churah, Salooni, and Pangi will be rescued when there is no connectivity. Instead of acting, they are spreading misinformation,” Thakur charged.
Dr Janak Raj, BJP MLA from Bharmour (Chamba), painted a grim picture of the ground reality. “Our entire district is cut off from the outside world.
There is no road, no communication, and no reliable supply of food.
Thousands are stranded, but even the administration cannot confirm how many or in what condition they are. Relief operations are crawling because the government has no plan,” he said.
Janak Raj demanded that MLAs from Chamba be airlifted to their constituencies in government helicopters to supervise relief and rehabilitation.
“We were sent here by people to stand with them in their darkest hour. If we cannot even reach them when they need us the most, what purpose do we serve?
The Assembly session can wait, but people in Pangi and Bharmour cannot. The government must either adjourn the session or provide helicopters so that we can be with our people,” he declared.
The BJP alleged that while thousands were spending nights in cars and makeshift shelters, the Sukhu government was “busy with politics” instead of mobilising every available resource, including Army assistance, to speed up rescue and relief.
Reacting to the Opposition charges Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri termed walkout as the BJP’S political move and the BJP was giving political colour to the disaster in Himachal Pradesh.
More than 3,000 people have been rescued so far in different parts of the state and rescue operation was in full swing. The BJP MLAs should cooperate rather than resorting to petty politics that will not help the people, Agnihotri said.
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