Himachal assembly session BJP MLAs protest against 'withholding' of area development funds

Dharamshala (HP), Nov 27 (PTI) The BJP legislators on Thursday protested against the state government for not releasing the MLA area development fund and alleged that with restrictions on the treasury, development in the state "has come to a standstill".
    The opposition MLAs came holding placards and raised anti-government slogans on the second day of the 10-day-long Winter session of the Himachal assembly.
    They then held a sit-in protest outside the Vidhan Sabha in Dharamshala.
    Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said, "We are elected MLAs, and there is a provision for the area development fund in the budget. But, despite approvals by the MLAs, the treasury is holding back, and officials clearly say there is no money, and they cannot release more than Rs 10,000."
    He said there could be "no bigger joke than this" in a democracy.
    Thakur further alleged that the Congress government is not providing funds even as roads are damaged, and bridges washed away in the disaster-affected areas.
    "People expect MLA funds, but money is not released," he said, questioning where the money was going.
    "When the development has come to a standstill, and the treasury is not releasing funds, where is the money going? Contractors' payments are being withheld by issuing tokens and taking commissions. This is a new form of corruption," he alleged.
    With the assembly session underway, Congress leaders were not immediately available to respond to the allegations.
    Earlier in the morning, before the session began, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was seen taking a walk in Dharamshala's Kacheri Bazaar, where he interacted with local residents.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)