Govt committed to provide transparent, responsive administration : Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Dharamsala : The Himachal Pradesh government is committed to provide a transparent, responsive and accountable administration to the people, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday.

Addressing the ‘Jan Aabhar’ rally here to express gratitude to the people of Kangra district for their mandate in favour of Congress in the Assembly polls, Sukhu said the government is here not to enjoy power, but to bring a change in the system.

He said after being sworn-in as the Chief Minister, he visited the Girl Child Care Institute in Shimla and felt that a lot more is required to be done for destitute children, women and senior citizens.

“We have decided to set up the Chief Minister’s Sukhashray Sahayata Kosh with an outlay of Rs 101 crore so that it can meet the basic educational needs of the children and destitute women.

“The government will bear the entire expenditure for skill development education, higher education and vocational training of such children. They will also be given financial assistance from time to time, so that they can lead a respectable life,” he added.

Launching a scathing attack on the previous BJP government for opening over 900 institutions without any budgetary provisions, Sukhu said this was simply done to lure the people with an eye on the Assembly elections.

The state government cracked a big paper leak scam going on since the tenure of the BJP government in the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur, which became a den of selling question papers, the Chief Minister said.

Taking a bold decision, the government suspended the functioning of the commission. The government will also ensure free and fair examinations for different posts, he said.

The Chief Minister also said that the government will implement all the 10 guarantees promised in the Congress manifesto before the Assembly elections in a phased manner, adding that the government will implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) in its first Cabinet meeting.

Besides, a decision to provide Rs 1,500 to the women in the age group of 18 to 60 years would also be taken soon. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri took a jibe at the BJP leaders and said that it seems these leaders are finding it difficult to digest the defeat in the Assembly polls, and thus are issuing baseless statements.

He said the people of the state have completely discarded the so called BJP’s double-engine government. “Jobs were on sale during the tenure of the previous BJP regime, whereas the present government, after coming to power, immediately suspended the working of the staff selection commission in Hamirpur,” Agnihotri said.

He also advised the BJP leaders to play the role of a responsible opposition. In the 21-day period after assuming office, the state government has taken some historic decisions, said Agnihotri, adding that the Chief Minister Sukhashray Sahayata Kosh has been established to ensure that lesser privileged children can get adequate financial assistance for higher education as per their choice.

Member of Parliament and state Congress President Pratibha Singh thanked the people of the state for their wholehearted support in the Assembly elections. It was due to the support and love of the people that the Congress has been able to form the government in the state, she said.