The opposition Congress walked out of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly during Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur's reply to the Governor's address on the fourth day of the ongoing budget session on Thursday.
The opposition Congress MLAs staged the walkout, raising the slogan 'chhor machaye shor' (thief is making noise). Unperturbed, the chief minister continued his reply.
The CM said the opposition members had been given adequate time for expressing their views on the Governor's address. If they were not satisfied with his reply, they could have raised questions but the walk out was not a welcome step in a democratic set-up, he said.
Earlier, the chief minister said, "Jan Manch Programme was one of the most successful programmes so far launched in Himachal Pradesh by any state government."
Thakur said as many as 26,700 problems of the public had been solved in 106 Jan Manch Programmes (JMPs) held so far in 65 Assembly constituencies.
He said, "The opposition raised several adverse questions on JMPs and their worries showed it was the most successful programme."
The CM asked, "What is the harm in organising such programmes where a villager gets his or her minor works done at their doorstep."
He said as many as 4.23 lakh digital ration cards had been issued to the public during JMPs. Besides lakhs of villagers were benefited from the health camps organised in JMPs, he added.
"We want to reduce the footfall of villagers in government offices for minor works like getting water or power connections or ration cards," Thakur said.
JMPs are held in a democratic set up and every person -- irrespective of his or her political affiliation -- is allowed to speak in these meets, he added.
Speaking on heli taxis, Thakur said the service was launched on June 4 last year between Shimla and Chandigarh by making available the helicopter, which usually he uses, three days a week.
As many as 400 tourists used this heli taxi but the service had to be stopped as the helicopter developed some technical problems and took two months for repairs.
Subsequently, the chopper was made available to the people of the tribal areas to tackle adverse weather conditions.
Efforts are on to start heli taxis on regular basis from Shimla to Chandigarh, Kullu and Mandi soon, he said adding that these taxis may start services from later this month.
Speaking on the questions raised by the opposition regarding law and order situation, the chief minister said the number of criminal cases had increased slightly last year as compared to previous years. He claimed during the Congress-led previous government several criminal cases had not been registered.
The CM said, "We are doing our best for the welfare of the public but there is always scope for improvement and we will keep on improving ourselves for the betterment of the state.
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