Political tensions soared in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha as both treasury and opposition benches clashed fiercely over issues of governance, industrial policy, and corruption. The session began with BJP MLAs raising the issue of widespread closure and alleged “flight” of industries from the state, attributing it to the Congress government’s policies and rising electricity costs. They claimed that, in the last three years, 115 factories had shut down and that unemployment was increasing at an alarming rate. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu defended the government’s approach, highlighting the establishment of 2,853 new units despite the challenges, and accused the previous BJP regime of giving away prime land at throwaway prices under “customized packages,” which he described as harmful to Himachal’s long-term interests. As the debate intensified, the Chief Minister announced a new industrial policy was forthcoming, aimed at reversing negative trends and fostering investment. The demand for accountability over the Pekhubela project caused particular turmoil. Speaker Kuldeep Pathania insisted that the term “corruption” could not be used without documentary evidence and ruled that “contemptuous charges” would not be recorded. The BJP’s Sudhir Sharma even moved a privilege motion against the Chief Minister, citing alleged misleading information in assembly replies and government announcements. When opposition members found the answers to be unsatisfactory, they staged a walkout, chanting slogans and accusing the government of mismanagement. Earlier in the session, certain opposition MLAs refused to ask scheduled questions to Minister Jagat Singh Negi, intensifying the friction. The Speaker intervened by marking such questions as “answered in writing” and admonished both sides for procedural lapses. The sequence of heated debates, walkouts, and privilege motions underscored the deep divisions in Himachal’s political landscape during a time of natural crisis.
