BJP protests against lottery restart in Himachal, Jai Ram Thakur warns of impact on youth

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Thakur says lottery could fuel addiction, harm youth; accuses Congress government of failing to deliver jobs and address employees’ demands.

Shimla , September 2

BJP legislators staged a protest outside the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday against the state government’s decision to restart lottery operations, with Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur terming the move “wrong” and warning that it could adversely affect the younger generation.

Thakur said the decision should be withdrawn immediately, arguing that Himachal Pradesh, known as Dev Bhoomi, had traditionally remained away from such practices. He accused the state government of using financial difficulties as a reason to impose new taxes and now introduce lotteries to generate revenue.

Reacting to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s reported statement that lotteries would not lead to addiction and were merely a game of chance, Thakur said the claim was “nothing short of a joke”.

The BJP leader said Himachal was already battling drug abuse, with chitta reaching villages across the state. Introducing lotteries in such a situation, he said, could encourage another form of addiction.

Thakur recalled that lotteries had earlier caused financial distress to several families in the state. He claimed that some people had been forced to sell their homes and land, while others had taken their own lives after falling into debt. He said Himachal had come out of the lottery-related addiction after 1999.

“The government should think about ensuring that people get the fruits of their hard work rather than allowing thousands of people to lose their money in the hope that one person will get lucky,” Thakur said.

He also criticised the government’s proposal to legalise cannabis cultivation, saying there was no clarity on the revenue expected from the move. Thakur said the committee constituted to examine the issue was assigned to conduct a study and undertake visits, but had not recommended legalising cannabis cultivation.

He alleged that the government had so far failed to provide clear information to the Assembly on the issue.

On unemployment, Thakur said the Congress had promised one lakh government jobs in its first Cabinet meeting and five lakh employment opportunities within five years. He said the state’s youth were still waiting for these promises to be fulfilled.

Thakur claimed that the number of government employees, which was around 1.90 lakh during the previous BJP government, had now declined to around 1.72 lakh. He alleged that government jobs were continuously decreasing in the state.

The Leader of Opposition further said government employees and pensioners were regularly staging protests over their demands. He said pensioners and employees of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) were also facing difficulties.

Accusing the government of failing to address employees’ concerns despite calling itself employee-friendly, Thakur said the BJP would continue to raise unemployment and other issues concerning the youth and employees inside the Assembly.