Himachal Pradesh's ruling BJP received a jolt ahead of assembly polls slated later this year as half a dozen senior party leaders announced their decision to quit.
Himachal Pradesh's ruling BJP on Wednesday received a jolt ahead of assembly polls slated later this year as half a dozen senior party leaders, who had earlier formed the Bhrastachar Mukti Morcha (forum against corruption), announced their decision to quit the party.
Making the announcement at a press conference, convenor of Morcha, Maheshwar Singh, a former state BJP president, said the party's central leadership has not paid any heed to issues related to rampant corruption and their patience has exhausted.
The Morcha leaders had met the party President Nitin Gadkiri and apprised him of the situation and also given a "chargesheet" with documentary evidence "but all our pleas fell on deaf ears and it appeared that the central leadership too was soft on corruption", he added.
Launching a frontal attack on the government on the issue of corruption, the Morcha president, flanked by former ministers Radha Raman Shashtri, Shyama Sharma and Mohinder Nath Sofat, alleged the government was involved in facilitating illegal land deals and land had been allowed to be purchased by outsiders in the name of private universities and the government-realtor nexus was flourishing.
He said the name and date of floating the new party would be announced soon.
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, when contacted, said nobody had ever come to him with any issue concerning corruption in land transactions.
"If somebody thinks there is some irregularity in land transactions, he can approach the Judicial Commission set up by the government to probe illegal land deals", he said adding "if the party high command has not taken any initiative address their grievances, it is between them and the High command".
"Our fight is against corruption and it would continue and our aim would be to dislodge the government", Singh, who was dropped from BJP national executive in November last year, said.
He also alleged the policies of the government are drafted in a manner that it helped the corrupt and hit out at the government for allegedly favouring the Bemloe Development and Infrastructure Company, building an ultra-luxury housing project in a green area in Shimla town.
Without taking any name, the dissident leaders said the son of a top functionary has purchased a huge chunk of land in Kullu district and its cost had been grossly undervalued.
Even ruling BJP’ MP Rajan Sushant had levelled allegations of corruption, especially shady land deals and mushrooming of private university in Solan district, they added.
Sushant, who had also attacked the government in public, was also dropped from the national executive in May last year but no further action was taken against him.
Sofat claimed over a dozen party leaders are resigning and fifty executive members of the Morcha and convenors of nine districts would also follow suit.
National BJP Vice President Shanta Kumar, who had advised the Morcha leaders to raise their grievances within the party, refused to comment on the latest development.
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