Several officials of the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat have been chargesheeted under the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules for irregularities in purchase of hand sanitisers, state Health Minister Rajiv Saizal informed the state Assembly on Tuesday. The supplier of sanitisers was also booked under the IPC and Essential Commodities Act, he added. He said that an inquiry into the purchase of some PPE kits in Bilaspur district found issues with the quality of materials purchased, but there were no irregularities during the purchase. “However, the purchased kits were not equivalent to raincoats like it was alleged,” he said. He added that the vigilance investigation against former director of health services Dr A K Gupta, arrested for alleged corruption in the purchase of PPE kits for the state, is almost complete and the “final report is being prepared”. He called it an “isolated case” which had nothing to do with the functioning of the department. Saizal gave the reply during a discussion on the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, after several Congress members raised the issue of corruption in the purchase of medical items. Call for unity Several members of the House appealed for a united fight against the pandemic and appealed to the House to “avoid politicising the matter”. Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania said that Indira Gandhi was compared to goddess Durga by an Opposition leader after the 1971 India-Pak war as the nation was united. “This fight, too, has to be fought together. Already, as compared to other nations, India stands apart in its handling of the pandemic, and Himachal has been among the most successful states in fighting the disease,” he said. He added that the state has been ranked seventh in the ease of doing business rankings released on Sunday, increasing its prospects of being allocated a bulk drug park by the Centre. Banjar MLA Surender Shourie said that the state had started an employment scheme in its urban areas to deal with the unemployment resulting from the pandemic. “Unity is the need of the hour. The danger has not receded yet,” he said. Palampur MLA Ashish Butail said that every organisation in his area had made efforts during the lockdown to ensure that no person slept hungry. Dharamshala MLA Vishal Nehria said Himachal has been conducting various recruitment examinations so that government employment opportunities are not diminished. “More than 25 thousand candidates have appeared for these exams, and none among them tested positive,” he said. Attacks by Opposition # Rohru MLA Mohan Lal Brakta said apple growers have been facing a severe labour shortage during the harvest season, and Covid precautions are not being followed at the mandi in Rohru # Several Congress MLAs alleged that Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had failed to follow social distancing norms while taking part in a havan organised by the BJP in Shimla, and that BJP leaders repeatedly flouted norms during their functions # Some members also said that the “instituion of MLA has been weakened” amid the pandemic as the government suspended MLA LAD funds # Opposition Congress staged a walkout during the sitting, while Congress activists protested outside Vidhan Sabha against “anti-people policies of the BJP government”
