The opposition BJP continues its attack on the ruling Congress in the House during the budget session.
The leader of the opposition and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday levelled serious allegations against the ruling Congress government, accusing it of patronising the mafia.
Mr Thakur, while addressing reporters at the state Assembly complex ,said the state government failed to take any action against the Mining, Drug, and forest mafias ,which compelled them to stage a protest.
Cracking down on the mafia is not a priority for the government: BJP
“Mafia rule is rampant everywhere in the state. The level of mafia terror seen today is unprecedented,” Jai Ram Thakur said while adding that the sequence of events is lengthy, but “I would like to briefly state that cracking down on the mafia is not a priority for the government. Many people, in addition to having connections with the mafia, are also part of the government”, he said.
Thakur said that by working within the government, they ( mafias) influence its work. As a result, the drug mafia and mining mafia have spread from one corner of Himachal Pradesh to the next.
“Now, there are different categories of mafia. The examples of the mining mafia, liquor mafia, and forest mafia are all fresh in our minds,” the leader of the opposition said.
Rules violated to pave the way for illicit tree felling
Jai Ram Thakur further said that in the Shillai Assembly constituency of Sirmaur district, hundreds of trees were felled and razed to the ground. He claimed that the authorization was for only 25 trees, which was also not permissible.
” And I question this as well, because no one person can be granted permission to cut even 25 trees. According to the rules, permission can only be granted to cut three trees,” Jai Ram Thakur added.
The senior BJP leader stated that even if permission was granted to cut 25 trees, more than 300 trees were felled. “Consider the arrogance of the person who cut the trees, who admitted to the media that he had cut the trees,” Jai Ram said.
“This person is a former District Congress official and is close to senior leaders. When the Chief Minister was asked about this, he said that there was no way even to get there. Previously, a similar issue was flagged both within and outside the Assembly, regarding the Dharampur Assembly constituency in Mandi district,” he added.
Mandi Congress leader fells hundreds of trees
Additionally, the senior BJP leader claimed that a Congress leader had applied for a timber depot in his wife’s name. The application was still pending, and the depot hadn’t been approved. However, the leader decided to make arrangements before approval was granted, and he began clearing the forest. Thousands of truckloads of timber were cut and stored in one location. When people learned of this, there was widespread uproar. The Bharatiya Janata Party also formed a committee, and committee members visited the site.
” The BJP committee inspected the felled trees on the spot. The leader then began burying the logs underground with the JCB. The felled trees were then dumped into the Beas River below using tractor trolleys. Despite this, the government took no action. These are not isolated incidents, but dozens have come to light,” the former Chief Minister said.
Una Congress leader’s murder linked to illicit mining
Jai Ram Thakur said that the forests are being cut down and sold because the government has given the mafia a free hand. ‘Beyond that, we don’t need to say much about the mining mafia. A birthday party is held in Una, then a shooting occurs, killing a young man. Two young men were slashed with swords and are still battling for their lives. This case is linked to the mining mafia,” he said.
The former chief minister claimed that the attack on a former MLA from Bilaspur is nothing but an inter-personal rivalry. He also said that the Chief Minister was asked dozens of times about the reason for the shooting, but received no answer. The truth is that these people once worked together, but then they separated, and when they got into a fight, the shooting occurred.
” The government pays no attention to these criminal activities because the criminals enjoy full government protection. When the government failed to take any action, the legislative party decided to raise the issue,” Jai Ram Thakur said.
Himachal Pradesh opposition BJP MLAs were seen protesting against the state government, holding placards accusing the government of shielding the criminals .
