BJP crisis deepens in HP

Cracks in the state BJP unit got wider on Monday after rebels - mostly sitting MLAs,ministers and party office-bearers owing their allegiance to BJP veteran Shanta Kumar - boycotted the partys executive meeting and threatened to hold a separate one to lobby for changes in the party leadership besides seeking firm action against the corrupt within the party and government.

Cracks in the state BJP unit got wider on Monday after rebels – mostly sitting MLAs,ministers and party office-bearers owing their allegiance to BJP veteran Shanta Kumar – boycotted the partys executive meeting and threatened to hold a separate one to lobby for changes in the party leadership besides seeking firm action against the corrupt within the party and government.

Shanta Kumar,meanwhile,flew to Gujarat to send a strong signal of protest even as his loyalists defied the partys call to attend the meeting. Kumar hasnt attended a meeting of the state executive meeting for the past year and a half but has instead started an open campaign against corruption.

Prominent among those who stayed away are: Krishan Kapoor,Ramesh Dhawla,Vipin Parmar,Des Raj,Praveen Sharma – minister and MLAs from Kangra – Shanta Kumars home district .Other key absentees were Khushi Ram Balnatah (MLA),Radha Raman Shastri (former speaker),Maheshwar Singh (ex-MP),Rajeev Bhardwaj and H N Kashyap.

Among those present for the meeting were J P Nadda,former minister and currently BJP general secretary and Ram Lal,BJPs organisational secretary in-charge for Himachal Pradesh though Kalraj Mishra,general secretary in-charge did not turn up. Anurag Thakur,MP and All India Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha was conspicuous by his presence.

The dissidents have long been planning a showdown to convey their displeasure over the handling of party affairs by BJP president Khimi Ram – a Chief Minister Prem Kumar loyalist – and have been demanding change. The rebels accuse Khimi Ram of being a rubber stamp president and have proposed the name of Khimi Ram Balnatah,a Rohru MLA as replacement to strike a balance in the party set up.

There are a whole lot of issues which we have raised several times. Corruption is rampant in the government. Shanta Kumar ji raised two prime issues in the core committee meeting. They related to reinstatement of Sher Singh,a former drug controller by Health minister Rajeev Bindal despite a corruption FIR pending against him. Later Sher Singh was even promoted despite Shantas reservations to his reinstatement. Now what face the government has been left with after a trial court convicted and sent him to the jail ? asks a BJP MLA.

Another case raised by Shanta Kumar,the rebels say relates to Sanjay Gupta,the IAS officer posted as the Divisional Commissioner and who has been facing a bribery case. The government chose to protect both the officers and has compromised on the corruption issue,alleges another Kangra leader,close to Shanta Kumar.

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The dissidents also list out other issues including that of IPH minister from Kangra,Ravinder Ravi and independent MLA Rakesh Pathania getting preferential treatment in the district over other MLAs and ministers. They claim that only those loyal to Dhumal are treated well in the party and issues of corruption are brushed aside.

Sources said the rebels are preparing to issue an open letter to the BJP high command to raise issue of corruption and lacklustre handling of the organisation by Khimi Ram,who was made party president despite opposition from Shanta Kumar. Two ministers are also on their radar on the corruption issue.

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