The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Monday began discussion on the recent natural calamity under a adjournment motion moved by the Opposition BJP under Rule 67.
Accepting the opposition’s demand, the government agreed to suspend all other business on the very first day of the monsoon session to hold the discussion.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur initiated the debate, alleging that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s government is “trapped in its own disaster” and has failed to respond effectively to the calamity.
He advised the Chief Minister not to treat the crisis as routine and instead carry out relief and rehabilitation measures on a war footing.
Thakur charged that although the government has amended the Relief Manual to announce a special relief package, people have yet to receive any real benefit.
“A special package is meaningless if relief does not reach the affected families,” he said, stressing that natural disasters should not become a subject of politics, as they can strike anywhere, anytime.
Referring to the devastation in his Seraj constituency in Mandi district, he said 31 people had lost their lives there, while hundreds of families had been rendered homeless and landless.
“Where will these people go? This is the most pressing question today,” he questioned, adding that Seraj alone had suffered losses worth nearly Rs 500 crore.
He further pointed out that even after one and a half months, roads in Seraj had not been restored. Instead, he alleged, Congress leaders and contractors were misusing the disaster situation for corruption, going so far as to claim bills for machinery deployed by BJP workers and local residents at their own expense.
He also expressed shock that the government had released only Rs 2 crore for relief in Seraj.
Thakur strongly opposed the government’s decision to shift the horticulture college from Thunag, calling it a “narrow-mindedness in the name of disaster management.”
He condemned the registration of FIRs against locals protesting this decision, terming it an act of political vendetta.He also recalled that Agriculture Minister had faced public protests earlier as well—being shown black flags in Kinnaur and nearly attacked in Lahaul-Spiti.
“During a disaster, the duty of the government is to help the people, not to register cases against them,” he remarked.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu countered the Opposition’s charge, accusing it of trying to alter Assembly procedure midway. Recalling the monsoon disaster last year in 2023, when damages had crossed Rs 10,000 crore, he stated that the BJP that time had staged a walkout instead of supporting a resolution.
“Despite that, today we have accepted their proposal for debate under Rule 67. This is an issue of public concern and should not be reduced to walkouts,” he remarked.
Congress MLA Chandra Shekhar and BJP MLA Anil Sharma also participated in the discussion.