The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday witnessed a war of words between Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur over the issue of the states share in the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) and the bodys indifferent attitude towards the families affected by the release of water from Pong dam in Kangra district. The clash led the chief minister to bring up Thakurs early political career when he was elected to the Assembly on a Janata Party ticket and was a staunch Congress critics. As Dhumal started to read the text of Thakurs speech in the Assembly when he was in the Janata Party,the latter reacted sharply and threatened to stage at dharna in the well of the House. Thakur even invited CLP leader Vidya Stokes and other MLAs to lodge their protest,as the chief minister was going out of context. The issue under discussion was the sudden discharge of water from Pong dam by the BBMB,which had inundated nearly 16 panchayats of Gangath area. Irrigation and Public Health Minister Ravinder Ravi said that huge losses had been incurred and as several villages had been flooded,villagers had been evacuated. He added that the government will fix responsibility on the BBMB and seek compensation for the affected families. At this point,the chief minister alleged that the Centre and BBMB had done a grave injustice to Himachal Pradesh. As Thakur sought to defend the Congress and claimed that the previous regime had filed a case in the Supreme Court to seek the states share,Dhumal waved the text of Thakurs speech in the House as a member of the Janata Dal. As Speaker Tulsi Ram tried to restore peace,Dhumal exchanged heated arguments with Thakur. Another Congress MLA,Sujan Singh Pathania also a former Janata Party member protested against Dhumal,eventually making the chief minister to drop idea of further annoying the Congress members.
