Cong taking credit for BJP schemes: MLA

Tribune News Service

Solan, May 24

Kasauli BJP MLA Rajiv Sehzal today blamed the Congress government for taking credit of various development schemes initiated during the tenure of the BJP and failing to announce anything new for the Kasauli constituency.

Addressing mediapersons, Sehzal said it was surprising to note that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had laid the foundation stone of the Parwanoo-Bhojnagar via Banasar-Chakki-ka-Mor-Bhojnagar Road which was an existing road since the past several years.

He said the National Highways Authority of India had sanctioned Rs 20 crore for improving this road in lieu of the four-laning of the national highway-22 in a bid to divert the traffic and it was “ludicrous” that the Congress government was “claiming” credit for this road.

Giving figurative details of other such projects, he claimed that the CM had also inaugurated the Haripur Irrigation Scheme during his two-day visit to the area while its foundation stone was laid on September 7, 2012, during the BJP tenure. A budgetary provision of Rs 69 lakh was provided by the BJP government.

Besides, the Patta Barori Potable Water Scheme for which an outlay of Rs 1.35 crore was set aside by the former BJP government was also inaugurated by the CM.

“The new building of the Public Health Centre at Subathu was also inaugurated by the CM while it was an achievement of the former BJP government which had set aside a budget of Rs 75 lakh for it. Not only this, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal had laid the foundation stone of the Kanda-Katal Road on October 28, 2010, during his tenure and this road too was inaugurated by the CM,” the MLA said.

Sehzal asked the Congress government why they had not even begun work on the new college building whose foundation stone was laid three years ago and what new development scheme had been announced for Kasauli, when only old schemes had now been inaugurated.

He also asked the CM as to what had been done to rehabilitate the shopkeepers at Dharampur who were facing livelihood issues due to acquisition of their shops due to the four-laning of the highway.

He said he had urged the Union Government to grant them 13 biswa of vacant MES yard at Dharampur where shopkeepers could be rehabilitated while the state government had “failed” to initiate any such step.

Those present on the occasion included Daisy Thakur, secretary, state BJP, Shailender Gupta, general secretary, BJP’s Solan mandal, and others.