Dismiss HP Government, demands BJP President

Mandi, Sep 1 (UNI) Expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Himachal Pradesh, State BJP president Jai Ram Thakur today demanded the dismissal of the Congress Government in the state.

The Congress has no moral right to continue in office after the death of a four-year-old boy who failed to reach the hospital after his vehicle got stuck in traffic, he said at a press conference here.

Mr Thakur said the law and order situation in the state had gone from bad to worse since the Congress Government took power in the state four-and-a-half years ago.

Referring to the death of the boy after his vehicle got stuck in traffic in Shimla on Wednesday when parallel rallies were held by the Congress and the BJP, he said it was just that an impartial inquiry was essential to arrive at the truth.

Replying to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's statement that they had forcibly tried to disrupt their rally, he said the Congress had illegally occupied their venue of rally by continuing to squat there for over six hours.

The BJP President claimed that the Congress had foreseen its defeat in the coming assembly elections and the Wednesday's incident was an act of frustration on its part.

Meanwhile, State BSP Convenor Vijai Singh Mankotia at a press conference here today blamed the Congress and the BJP for the death of the boy, saying they were playing politics over the death.

Mr Mankotia said timely medical treatment to the boy, who was referred to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) from Sarkaghat in Mandi district, would have saved his life.

He later visited the parents of the deceased boy and expressed his condolences.

UNI