Dhumal behind PILs, says CM

Una, May 11 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today blamed former chief minister P K Dhumal for numerous public interest litigations (PILs) filed against the state government in the HP High Court in the recent past.

Addressing mediapersons here, he said Mr Dhumal was behind all recent PILs filed in the high court, which had stayed appointments in government jobs and admissions to JBT courses, besides staying appointment of anganwadis, nurses and multi-purpose health workers in the state.

Mr Singh said a PIL mafia was the latest entrant in the state and was being funded by the former chief minister.

Observing that since Mr Dhumal's performance as the state chief minister was ''very poor'', he said the BJP leader was trying to ensure that others who succeed him do not out perform him.

Accusing the BJP leader for filing a PIL in the state High Court on the reported theft from the Chief Minister's office, he said it had been filed on his behalf.

He, however, categorically denied that any such incident had taken place in his office. ''The story is concocted, baseless and aimed at tarnishing the image of the Chief Minister and the Congress party.'' Terming the previous state government to be the most corrupt state government ever, he said that the BJP had a tradition of indulging in corruption as proved in several incidents at the national level recently.

Referring to the Lok Sabha by-polls from Hamirpur, he said these were being held following the suspension of BJP Lok Sabha MP Suresh Chandel from Parliament after his involvement in the ''cash for query scam''.

''Even the Supreme court had upheld the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to suspend him after the scam was made public,'' he said.

Mr Singh said former BJP national president Bangaru Laxman, present Rajya Sabha member and the then contender for the post of Jharkhand Chief Minister Dalip Singh Judeo and former Gujrat MP Babu Bhai Katara were live examples of corruption by their party members.

''Humans do make errors, but it pains to see corrupt persons getting political patronage and still continuing as members of a national political party,'' he said.

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