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The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhus Principal Media Advisor Naresh Chauhan on Tuesday said the controversy surrounding BJP MP Kangana Ranauts conduct during a Disha meeting and a viral video involving BJP MLAs was an internal matter of the BJP, but stressed that elected representatives and officials should be treated with due respect.
Addressing reporters, Chauhan said Ranauts conduct towards officials during meetings could be questioned, but it would be wrong to generalise that government officials were not working. On the viral video purportedly showing Ranaut failing to recognise BJP MLAs who had gone to welcome her in Kullu, Chauhan said, This is basically an internal matter of the BJP. Whom she recognises and whom she does not recognise is their own issue. He said other BJP MPs from Himachal Pradesh had not complained that officials were not working. There can certainly be shortcomings and an MP has every right to point them out and discuss them with officials, the Deputy Commissioner or through telephone. But it is not right to put a tag on everyone and say that officials do not work, he said. Chauhan said every individual, whether an officer or an employee, had self-respect and that elected representatives should keep this in mind. Reacting to the BJPs proposed month-long Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, under which the party plans to light diyas in around 80,000 homes on Prime Minister Narendra Modis birthday and undertake service activities, Chauhan said such programmes were the BJPs political choice, but the party should focus more on issues concerning Himachal Pradesh. It would have been better if the BJP understood what is important for Himachal Pradesh and what the priorities of the people of the state are, he said. He said Himachal was facing serious economic and disaster-related challenges and that political parties should work together to strengthen the states financial position and secure its legitimate rights from the Centre. Chauhan alleged that the BJPs focus remained on symbolic political programmes such as lighting diyas and organising other events, whereas the real issue was what political parties were doing for society and for the future of the younger generation. He said the younger generation carefully assessed the performance of political parties and their role while in government as well as in opposition. Chauhan said unemployment was not merely a Himachal Pradesh issue but a concern across the country, particularly among educated youth. He said the number of graduates, engineers, MBAs and other professionally qualified young people was increasing, while employment opportunities had not expanded at the same pace. Whether it is government employment, private-sector jobs or self-employment, young people need opportunities to build their lives, he said, adding that the Centre and state governments needed to frame policies keeping the aspirations of the younger generation in mind. Taking a swipe at the Centres economic policies, Chauhan alleged that wealth and resources were increasingly concentrated among a small number of people and claimed that this could have serious consequences if adequate employment opportunities were not created. Responding to criticism over employment, Chauhan said the Sukhu government would soon release a detailed account of jobs created during its four-year tenure. We will soon give a white paper and provide the complete data on how many government and non-government jobs have been provided during our four-year tenure, he said. He claimed that record recruitment had taken place in sectors including health, education and police, besides recruitment in the Home Guards. Chauhan said the government wanted to create maximum employment opportunities for young people in the government, private and self-employment sectors. Chauhan also defended the recently passed legislation changing the recruitment system in state universities, saying it would bring greater transparency and merit-based selection. He said recruitment under the UGC system had traditionally been conducted by individual universities for teaching as well as non-teaching posts, but the state government had decided to change the system through legislation. This could become a historic step and may even be adopted by other states. There is nothing wrong with conducting examinations through a commission. It will increase opportunities for meritorious youngsters who work hard and want to progress on the basis of merit, he said. Chauhan claimed that recruitment under the present government had been conducted with transparency and without discrimination. He challenged the Opposition to identify any paper-leak case during the present governments tenure, contrasting it with the previous governments tenure, when allegations surrounding recruitment examinations had damaged Himachal Pradeshs reputation. On the reported ragging incident at a residential school and videos of the incident being circulated on social media, Chauhan said an FIR had already been registered, and action would follow according to law. He said strict protocols and legal provisions were in place to deal with ragging in government and private educational institutions, schools and colleges. Ragging is a very serious and disturbing issue. Parents send their children to boarding schools with the expectation that they will be safe there. Society as a whole, not just the government, needs to remain alert, he said. He added that institutions had designated mechanisms for receiving complaints and taking immediate action and said the present case was also being dealt with under the established procedure. On Chief Minister Sukhus visit to Delhi and his meetings with Union ministers, Chauhan said the Chief Minister regularly met the Centre to raise issues concerning Himachal Pradesh and seek financial and policy support for the hill state. He said Sukhu was scheduled to meet Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other ministers and would raise the states concerns regarding development, financial assistance and its legitimate claims. Himachal is a small hill state and faces circumstances different from larger states. The Chief Minister has been consistently raising the states issues before the Centre, and the results are also coming, Chauhan said. Referring to the states claims relating to power projects and BBMB, he said the government was pursuing the matters strongly. He said an agreement relating to a power project would generate around Rs 600 crore in revenue for Himachal Pradesh without the state having to incur expenditure, claiming that this was a better arrangement than an earlier agreement. On BBMB dues, Chauhan said Himachal Pradesh was pursuing its case in the Supreme Court and expected a judgment soon. He said the state was seeking around Rs 4,200 crore in arrears and was also pursuing several other claims. Chauhan also dismissed speculation about differences within the state government and any immediate cabinet reshuffle or expansion. He said Chief Minister Sukhus meetings with the Congress leadership in Delhi were related to government functioning as well as organisational matters and should not be interpreted as a sign of political dissatisfaction. The Chief Minister has already said that the cabinet expansion is due and that it will be done soon. But there is no immediate programme at present. The Chief Minister is in Delhi, and he is in the best position to say what discussions are taking place, Chauhan said. He said political speculation about anger or differences within the government was routine, adding that such discussions should not be given undue significance. (ANI)
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