Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi on Tuesday questioned the timing of the recent Delhi bomb blast, saying such incidents often occur close to elections. Negi said the timing of the explosion was suspicious.
“It is a very tragic incident. But the timing raises suspicion why do such bomb blasts happen only around elections in India?" he said.
Negi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier claim that demonetisation would end terrorism. “Big blasts have happened under his rule, along with repeated intelligence failures,” he said.
"For the last 11 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in power at the Centre, yet no state is safe. Even our national capital, Delhi, is not secure so what can we say about other states?" Negi asked.
Negi said all states, including Himachal Pradesh, have been put on high alert after the incident.
“We have issued precautionary measures and are following a set procedure to ensure proper checking. Tourist destinations are under strict vigil; movement of people is being monitored, and searches are being conducted," he said. Negi assured that “such incidents will not happen in Himachal Pradesh.”
He also clarified that a meeting held in Shimla with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and senior Army officers from the Northern Command had no connection with the Delhi blast.
“It was a pre-scheduled meeting. The Indian Army, with support from the Himachal government, has opened the Shipkila border pass and another border route. The meeting discussed coordination between the Army and civilians in border areas, social initiatives, and the transfer of certain road projects to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO),” Negi said.
He said the Army had requested land for a firing range in Kinnaur district, and the government had already fulfilled most of its needs. “Today’s meeting was meant to take those matters forward,” he said.
Commenting on the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections, Negi alleged that the BJP-led NDA’s confidence of victory seemed suspicious.
“If we look at 20 years of BJP and NDA rule in Bihar, it is clear that there has been no real development. People have not been given employment. If despite this record, they are still claiming victory, something is certainly wrong,” he said.
“The Mahagathbandhan has exposed the BJP's 20-year report card before the public. If BJP still wins despite this, it clearly raises questions,” Negi added.
Earlier, Negi launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, calling both “experts in lying.”
“If there were a competition for lying, both Modi and Jairam would bring back medals,” Negi remarked. He also called PM Modi’s recent Rs 1,500 crore announcement “unreliable and politically motivated.”
Negi further said Jairam Thakur appeared “mentally disturbed and unstable these days.”
“During Jairam's government, when I spoke at a Jan Manch event, an FIR was registered against me. But today, under the Sukhu government, we are ensuring that relief checks for disaster-affected families reach their accounts directly,” Negi said.
He added that the disaster relief fund in Himachal Pradesh had been hiked from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, and that Chief Minister Sukhu had already launched the new package from Mandi.
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