Himachal BJP holds Legislative Party meeting ahead of state budget session

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Legislative Party meeting was held in Shimla on Thursday late evening.

The meeting was held ahead of the Budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly scheduled on March 14.

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur chaired the meeting. The agenda of the meeting was to chalk out a strategy to take up issues of the state during the Assembly session.

"Before the budget session, the legislatures sit and discuss the issues regarding the assembly. There are several issues which we would be taking up in the assembly session. It is a happy moment for the party as we are forming a coalition government in all three northeastern states," Thakur said.

On the issue of appointments of the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries by the Congress government, he said that the party is taking legal opinion on it and it would be challenged in a court of Law.

"As far as the appointments of the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) are concerned we also had a proposal of such appointment we did not do so as there was a legal hurdle because there is a certain limit for constituting cabinet ministers and these also come under the office of profit and there are more than three judgments on it includes the judgment from the Supreme Court of India. I do not know how the present government has appointed CPS by making some provisions in the Act. We have partially studied the legal aspect of it and we shall discuss it to take legal action," said Thakur.

Asked about Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's statement that Jai Ram Thakur should speak to the union government to withdraw the increased Rs 50 in LPG prices, he said that it is the responsibility of the Chief Minister to stop inflation and take steps on the state level. He said instead of taking any steps the state, Chief Minister has put an additional burdenon the people of the state by increasing Rs 3 VAT on diesel and petrol.

( With inputs from ANI )