Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, August 12
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has supported Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of irregularities in India’s voter list, calling on the Election Commission to investigate.
Chief Minister Sukhu said the INDIA alliance had staged a protest in Delhi over the issue and stressed that the opposition has a right to be heard. “Without an opposition, there can be no healthy democracy,” he said, accusing the central government of suppressing dissent.
Speaking on recent heavy rainfall, landslides and falling trees in the state, Chief Minister Sukhu attributed them to climate change. He said he had discussed the matter with Home Minister Amit Shah and that a central team had been sent to study environmental changes, though its report was still awaited.
Dismissing media reports that he had been summoned by the Congress high command in Delhi, Sukhu said he had no immediate plans to visit the capital. The selection of the state party president was “in the pipeline,” he added.
The chief minister was speaking after flagging off a cycle rally and marathon in Shimla to mark World Youth Day. Organised by the Himachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society, the event aimed to raise awareness among young people about drug abuse and HIV.