CM Sukhu hits back at Jairam Thakur over delay in Shimla Zila Parishad polls

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Shimla, August 10

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday hit back at Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur over the delay in elections for the posts of Shimla Zila Parishad chairperson and vice-chairperson, questioning why the BJP leader took Zila Parishad members to Panchkula when the election date had already been fixed.

Sukhu said if Thakur wanted to stage a protest, it would be a good thing, but questioned what had prevented him from sending the members to the scheduled meeting. He said the Shimla Deputy Commissioner had fixed the election date, but the members were taken to a hotel in Panchkula instead.

“What is Jairam Thakur afraid of?” Sukhu asked, alleging that the members were moved out rather than sent to the election meeting.

The Chief Minister said there was no difficulty in announcing the election date and asserted that the Zila Parishad polls would be held and nobody could stop them.

Taking a dig at the opposition, Sukhu said Zila Parishad and BDC members were often taken on different trips until they cast their votes. He said some members had recently returned from Rajasthan and quipped that they could be taken around a little more, shown places of religious importance and then brought back for the elections.

Thakur had on Saturday accused the state government and the Shimla Deputy Commissioner of deliberately delaying the election for the Zila Parishad chairperson and vice-chairperson. He said the polls had not been held even two months after the results were declared and warned of approaching the High Court and staging a protest.

Meanwhile, Sukhu virtually inaugurated a newly constructed fire station at Nerwa from his official residence, Oak Over in Shimla. He also provided two new fire tenders to the Fire Services Department.

The Chief Minister had announced the establishment of the Nerwa fire station in March 2024. The facility is expected to strengthen emergency response in the area and provide quicker assistance to people during fire incidents and other emergencies.