BJP protests outside HP assembly over health services, HimCare scheme; Jairam Thakur calls Sukhvinder Singh government "incompetent"

Ahead of the fourth day of the Monsoon Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur staged a protest outside the Assembly campus on Tuesday, accusing the Congress government of failing to provide basic healthcare facilities and deliberately weakening welfare schemes launched by the previous BJP government.

Ahead of the fourth day of the Monsoon Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur staged a protest outside the Assembly campus on Tuesday, accusing the Congress government of failing to provide basic healthcare facilities and deliberately weakening welfare schemes launched by the previous BJP government. Addressing the media during the protest, Thakur said a government that could not provide adequate health facilities to people was "incompetent" and should be replaced.

He alleged that although the Sukhu government was nearing four years in office, it had failed to introduce any major new public-welfare scheme and was instead attempting to shut down schemes initiated by the previous BJP government. Thakur said the condition of healthcare services in Himachal Pradesh had deteriorated, despite Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu repeatedly claiming that the state was moving towards providing "high-end health services".

"Talk is being made about high-end healthcare services and expensive machines are being purchased, but people are suffering and dying without basic medicines and treatment," Thakur said, alleging that adequate attention was not being paid to basic healthcare infrastructure. He also questioned the government's expenditure on expensive medical equipment and alleged that there were ulterior motives behind such purchases. These allegations could not be independently verified.

The BJP protest was held as a discussion on health services was underway in the Assembly under Rule 130. Thakur said the BJP was particularly raising concerns over the Himcare health insurance scheme, under which, he claimed, lakhs of poor people had received treatment. Thakur accused the government of attempting to discredit the Himcare scheme by ordering an investigation into alleged irregularities. He referred to the Chief Minister's statement in the Assembly about an alleged ₹1,100-crore scam, saying the figure was subsequently corrected to ₹100 crore.

He alleged that officials were being pressured to establish the alleged ₹100-crore irregularity and claimed that vigilance inquiries had also been initiated against BJP legislators and others associated with the scheme. Thakur said the investigations were part of an alleged conspiracy to discredit Himcare and eventually create grounds for discontinuing the scheme. The allegations were made by Thakur during the protest and were not independently verified.

He also raised concerns over the Sahara scheme, alleging that beneficiaries requiring long-term assistance had been deprived of financial support after the Congress government came to power. Citing an alleged case brought to his attention, Thakur claimed that a severely disabled person was brought to him in a vehicle because the family believed the government had stopped the person's Sahara assistance after officially recording the beneficiary as deceased. He said documents relating to the case had been provided to the authorities.

Thakur said the government was talking about robotic surgery and advanced MRI facilities while basic healthcare services remained inadequate for poor people. "Nothing is more important to a person than his life. Basic healthcare facilities must therefore be the priority," he said.

The Leader of Opposition further accused the Sukhu government of pursuing a "politics of vendetta" against the BJP by closing institutions and welfare schemes associated with the previous government and attempting to tarnish projects undertaken during the BJP's tenure. He also criticised ruling Congress members for staging counter-protests and raising slogans against the BJP during the Assembly session.

"You are in government. If something is not working, raise the issue within the government. Why are you protesting every day?" Thakur said, questioning whether the ruling party was functioning as the government or as the Opposition. The BJP's protest came ahead of the day's Assembly proceedings, with health services and the functioning of the Himcare scheme emerging as major issues of confrontation between the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP. (ANI)