Heated exchanges erupted in the Himachal Pradesh assembly on Wednesday as the ruling and opposition benches clashed over the scrapping of the ‘Jan Manch’ scheme by the Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh. The scheme, implemented by the previous BJP government, aimed to address public grievances at their doorstep.
During the proceedings, the minister informed the House that 258 Jan Manch were organised by the BJP government from June 2018 to May 2022, at a cost of Rs 5.34 crore. He added that 45,726 complaints were received, of which 43,821 were redressed, while 1,905 cases were still pending. The minister announced that the government would discontinue the programme.
The announcement was met with strong opposition from BJP members, who raised slogans and entered the Well of the House. Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes to restore order.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur argued that the programme was essential for redressing public grievances and urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to reconsider the decision. Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi countered that it was the government’s prerogative to continue or discontinue any scheme and criticised the BJP for spending Rs 2.71 crore on food for party workers.
Thakur argued that the system should not be changed for one person’s bad experience and closing the programme was not the solution. In response, Sukhu promised to implement a new scheme that would address the problems of the people while giving employees and officers the respect they deserve.
