A three-minute video of Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh accusing the contractors — hired by the public works department (PWD) — of looting the state government’s money was uploaded on social networking site Facebook recently. Singh said this while addressing the gathering at the inauguration of the Government Senior Secondary School for Dashalani during his visit to his former assembly segment Rohru on July 4 and 5. Singh criticised the contractors for delaying the completion of the government buildings in Rohru.
“Yahan ki PWD pe mera bilkul bharosa nahi hai (I don’t trust the PWD in Rohru),” said Virbhadra, adding that they are “kamchor (one who shirks work).” “PWD vale thekedar ko nai chalate, thekedar PWD vaalon ko chalate hai (It’s not the PWD that runs the contractors, but it’s the opposite),” the chief minister said.
“Ye mera gussa nai hai, ye janta ka gussa hai (This is not my anger, but of the people),” Singh said, adding, “Yeh theka kaam karna ko nahin lete, sarkar ko lootney ke liye letein hain (The contractors don’t take contracts for doing the work, but in order to loot the government).”
The chief minister also talked about introducing laws for time-bound completion of work. The audience lauded the chief minister’s speech.
On Facebook, people are expressing their reactions by commenting on the video.
Opposition’s reaction
The Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party, has criticised the chief minister’s outburst.
“Virbhadra Singh is expressing his frustration,” said state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti, adding, “Singh made this statement to show that he is not a part of corruption in the state, but such loot is not possible without the government’s patronage.”
“For long, we have been saying that the contractors are running the government. Now, the chief minister has substantiated our allegations,” the CM said.
