The Leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh, Mukesh Agnihotri, on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the state government saying that it had failed to deliver on the ground in its one-year rule.

Initiating discussion on the motion of thanks on Governor’s address in the budget session of the state Assembly, Agnihotri said the Governor’s address neither spoke of points addressed in vision document of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before polls nor referred to the announcements made in Chief Minister’s budget speech for 2018-19.

He said despite much hype on National Highways announced by the Central government, the Governor’s address did not touch the issue. “This means there is no progress on the National Highways,” he said.

Former Congress minister and a member from Haroli, Agnihotri, criticised the government loudly, interspersing his speech with poetry on most of the issues and said the government has not given laptops, school uniforms, bags, and bottles to the students despite being promised.

He said the Governor’s address did not touch the issue of budget provision for smart cities of Dharamshala and Shimla and there is no mention of the Central University.

The Leader of Opposition said the government has taken a massive loan in the first year of rule despite being critical of the loans earlier. He said the state is reeling under a debt of Rs 50,000 crore but the government is not bothered.

He criticised the government for having misused the government machinery for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Dharamshala on December 27. He said none of the 30 new schemes announced by the CM in the 2018-19 budget has taken off on the ground. He said the CM’s declaration that his chopper would be used for the heli-taxi service to Chandigarh and back has turned out to be a farce and the scheme is a failure.

Agnihotri said the Udaan scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for flights between Shimla and Delhi with the claim that “a person wearing hawai chappal can also do hawai yatra now” has not helped as the ticket price is as high as Rs 20,000 to Rs 22,000. He categorically said that the crime graph has gone up in the last one year.

As soon as the Leader of Opposition finished his speech with a poetic expression on the performance of the state and Central governments with “Ab toh pacchis din ki dilli sarkar baaki hai, Jai Ram ji achhey din itney hi kaafi hain” (the days of Central government are numbered) CM Jai Ram Thakur stood up and replied, “The loud criticism of government by Leader of opposition suggests that the government is doing good.”

He said the government is working with full sincerity for people and state and all its schemes had taken off very well. “The Congress will find it difficult to walk on the ground when all these schemes start showing results on the ground,” he said.

The CM said the Congress party is baffled over the success of the Jan Manch programme. He said the helicopter is currently being used for tribal areas where people need it more in winters.

Thakur said the present government is working with a difference and has not carried out a vendetta against opponents. “The environment is positive as there are no reports of registration of cases out of revenge now,” he said.

BJP member from Nurpur, Rakesh Pathania, countered the leader of the opposition on different points and said he was not ready to see the positive happenings in the state in the last one year. Congress member from Naina Devi, Ram Lal Thakur, criticised the government for not having performed on the ground.

The motion of thanks on Governor’s address was moved by BJP member Inder Singh and was seconded by BJP member Balbir Chaudhary.