Nadda demands resignation of HP Chief Minister on moral

Union Minister J P Nadda today demanded the resignation of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on moral grounds, accusing him of "misusing" the official machinery to save his chair.
The situation is so dismal that the Congress has lost the moral authority to ask Singh to step down, he claimed here.
"The arrest of an officer of the industries department, who was caught red-handed by the CBI accepting a bribe, has blemished the image of the state.
"The fact that the office of the chief minister has also come under the scanner is a serious matter, affecting the functioning of the government," the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister said.

Corruption and inefficiency has gripped the government to such an extent that it is incapable of utilising funds given by the Centre, and even the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of 61 National Highways has not been prepared so far, he claimed.
"People are deprived of the benefits of various projects as central government grants have not been utilised properly," the minister said.

Nadda claimed that the government had cited non- availability of consultants for preparing the DPRs and even after the union government relaxed norms for their appointment "there was no progress in the matter so far."
The minister said the case was same with other projects sanctioned for the state, including Tertiary Care Centres at Shimla and Mandi; the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the PGI Satellite Centre.

He, however, refused to comment on the issue of setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and said the Centre is "negotiating" with the Himachal Pradesh government on the issue.
Nadda hit-out at the CPI (M), which was at the Shimla Municipal Corporation's helm, for not protecting the interests of the citizens.
"The SMC could not even provide safe drinking water to the residents of Shimla, resulting outbreak of jaundice which claimed the over 20 lives," he said.
The inefficiency of the Congress and the CPM can be gauged from the fact that they could not even secure Smart City status for the heritage city, Nadda claimed.

"However, the fact is that the selection of cities under the project is being done on set norms which the state failed to meet," he said.
He called on the people of Shimla to vote for BJP in the SMC polls as well in the assembly elections that are scheduled to be held by later this year.