Shimla: The Congress authorities led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) are at loggerheads over the now scrapped Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahri Samman scheme that was launched by the erstwhile dispensation in April 2021.
Citing austerity measures, the Sukhu authorities scrapped this scheme on 4 March.
Beneath the now abolished scheme, Himachal residents, who had been jailed or detained beneath the Upkeep of Inside Safety Act (MISA), 1971, or the Defence of India Guidelines 1971, or the Code of Legal Process, 1973 for political or social causes in the course of the Emergency, had been supplied a month-to-month pension.
Himachal Pradesh was the second state after Maharashtra to begin the scheme. The Maharashtra authorities led by Devendra Fadnavis began an analogous scheme in January 2018, which was later scrapped by the Congress NCP-Shiv Sena alliance authorities in July 2020. The present authorities has reinstated it once more July 2022.
Those that went to jail for 15 days or much less had been granted a month-to-month honorarium of Rs 12,000, whereas those that had been jailed for greater than 15 days, got an honorarium of Rs 20,000 as Saman Rashi, a authorities official mentioned.
Naresh Chauhan, principal advisor to the chief minister, mentioned the federal government has been taking measures to chop down on bills. “A number of ministers, former ministers, MLAs and BJP leaders had been among the many beneficiaries. This determination was to not disrespect anybody, however to save lots of the general public cash,” he advised ThePrint.
The BJP, nonetheless, has accused the Congress of wasteful expenditure by appointing chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) and giving cupboard ranks to favourites.
“The Congress authorities has suspended the scheme honouring those that fought for democracy to fund the payments of CPS, cupboard rank holders. By doing this, the celebration is hailing the Emergency — an act that had throttled democracy,” former legislation minister and senior BJP chief Suresh Bhardwaj advised ThePrint.
The matter didn’t go down properly with the opposition celebration, which led to a confrontation within the Vidhan Sabha on 29 March the place the problem was raised for dialogue by Sanjay Rattan, Congress MLA from Jawalamukhi.
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Disagreement in meeting
The staunchest criticism got here from former chief minister and former Union minister Shanta Kumar — one of many beneficiaries of the scheme — who mentioned the Congress MLAs have insulted those that had fought “the second freedom wrestle”.
“Combating in opposition to the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress authorities was the second freedom wrestle. A number of folks fought, had been jailed for safeguarding democracy,” he mentioned after the meeting session.
Kumar, was additionally jailed in the course of the Emergency for 19 months, advised the media that “no matter occurred within the state meeting was extra painful than the Emergency days”.
Countering Kumar’s stand, Parliamentary affairs minister Harshvardhan Singh Chauhan mentioned, “this (scheme) was began to offer pension to RSS folks, ministers or leaders.” “This was not a motion. The BJP portrayed it as a motion. Who had been jailed beneath MISA? They had been RSS folks. The BJP authorities misused the federal government cash to profit its personal folks,” he mentioned.
Criticism additionally got here from Suresh Bhardwaj, who was instrumental in introducing the Loktantra Prahari Scheme and was additionally a beneficiary, as he demanded that “Congress ought to apologise and clear its stand on Emergency.”
“That is nothing greater than an effort to appease the Congress excessive command. The Congress imposed the Emergency and is now defending it by insulting those that confronted the atrocities,” he advised ThePrint.
Shanta Kumar, like Bhardwaj, additionally demanded that the brand new authorities ought to apologise. “This scheme was not in regards to the pension of financial profit, however to honour those that fought for democracy. We don’t want any pension or honour, however the authorities ought to apologise for this injustice,” he added.
However Congress MLA Sanjay Rattan mentioned folks had been arrested for various causes, like anti-social actions. “Public cash shouldn’t be wasted like this,” he added.
On Saturday, Shanta Kumar posted on social media that greater than 75,000 folks had been jailed throughout the nation and it was a campaign to safeguard democracy. “Neither there was overseas invasion nor had one thing massive occurred then. Then the PM was disqualified by the courtroom for adopting corrupt practices throughout elections and the whole nation was transformed to a jail,” he mentioned.
Former chief minister Jairam Thakur, who’s chief of opposition in Vidhan Sabha, mentioned the scheme was began to offer “Samman Rashi” to the households of those that had been jailed or detained in the course of the Emergency beneath specific sections.
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Debate over scheme not new
On March 20, 2021 when the Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahri Samman Invoice was mentioned within the meeting, Sukhu, who was then the Congress MLA from Nadaun, had advised that individuals who had been imprisoned in the course of the Emergency for vandalism shouldn’t be introduced beneath this scheme.
Sukhu had additionally advised altering the time period “Loktantra Prahari” because it consists of journalists, RTI activists. He had alleged that individuals related to the BJP can be given the honorarium.
To this, the then CM Jairam Thakur had replied that the BJP was not in existence at the moment, and that individuals from all sections of society had been a part of the mass motion in opposition to the Emergency.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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