News Analysis India

Tag: Jai Ram Thakur

  • Himachal Pradesh joins wagon, reduces VAT on petrol, diesel 

    By PTI

    SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government announced on Thursday that Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol would be reduced by Rs 2 per litre and Rs 4.60 on diesel.

    Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said petrol would be cheaper by Rs 12 per litre whereas diesel would also be cheaper by Rs 17 per litre in the state.

    The Centre on Wednesday had reduced the excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 and that on diesel by Rs 10.

    In a notification issued here on Thursday, the Himachal Pradesh government has reduced the tax on petrol from 25 per cent or Rs 15.50 per litre to 17.5 per cent or Rs 13.50 per litre.

    Similarly, it reduced the tax on diesel from 14 per cent or Rs 9 per litre to six percent or Rs 4.40 per litre.

    Additional Chief Secretary (State Taxes and Excise) Jagdish Chander Sharma said the order would come into force from Thursday midnight.

    The chief minister thanked the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reducing the excise duty on petrol and diesel.

    “This decision of the Union government provided much needed relief to the people of the country,” he added.

  • Himachal Pradesh achieves distinction of cent per cent Covid vaccination: CM Jai Ram Thakur

    Jai Ram Thakur also said that Prime Minister Modi has congratulated the state government and agreed to digitally address the people of the state on September 6.

  • COVID situation in Himachal Pradesh under control but pandemic not yet over: CM Jai Ram Thakur

    Jai Ram Thakur said that though the COVID-19 situation in Himachal is under control, the pandemic is not yet over.

  • Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur expresses concern over rising COVID cases

    By PTI

    SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday expressed concern over rising coronavirus cases in the state.

    The number of active cases in the state rose to 2,086 on Monday, while the positivity rate was recorded at 1.9 per cent last week, a health official said.

    Thakur said the rise in numbers is a matter of concern and no one knows what type of situation will arise in the coming days.

    During a discussion in the state assembly on the Covid situation, Congress MLA from Kinnaur Jagat Singh Negi claimed that both the state and central government failed to properly handle the Covid pandemic.

    Negi said the prime minister should have got himself vaccinated first as the heads of several other foreign countries had done.

    At this, the chief minister intervened and took a strong exception to Negi’s statement.

    Thakur urged the opposition not to do politics on the pandemic.

    Several other legislators, including CPM MLA Rakesh Singha and Congress legislator Sukhvinder Sukhu, also participated in the discussion initiated by Congress MLA Inder Dutt Lakhanpal and BJP MLAs Bikram Singh Jaryal, Narinder Thkaur, Vinod Kumar and Kishori Lal.

    Meanwhile, samples of 88,887 people were tested last week, of whom 1,726 tested positive for Covid, the health official said, urging the public to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.

  • Himachal Pradesh among best states in COVID management: CM Jai Ram Thakur

    He said the Congress remained in power for about 50 years in Himachal as well as at the Centre, but there were only about 50 ventilators in the state when the pandemic started.

  • Himachal Pradesh CM, other BJP MLAs submit report cards to party leadership

    By PTI
    SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, 40 other BJP MLAs and 23 defeated party candidates in the last Assembly polls have submitted reports about the work done in their respective constituencies so far under the current government, a party spokesperson said on Thursday.

    Thakur (56) submitted his report card to BJP state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna not as the chief minister but as an MLA from Seraj Assembly segment in Mandi district, state BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma said.

    The Chief Minister, who is a five-time MLA, has mentioned in detail about the development work done in his Seraj constituency till now under his government, Sharma added.

    However, exact information about CM Thakur’s report card was not known.

    Thakur is among 41 out of a total 43 BJP MLAs who have submitted report cards of their respective Assembly segments to the state BJP in-charge, Sharma added.

    In his maiden visit to HP after becoming state in-charge in November last year, Khanna had asked all BJP MLAs and defeated candidates in all the 68 Assembly segments in 2017 elections to submit reports of development work done and required to be fulfilled, he added.

    Apart from 41 BJP MLAs, 23 defeated party candidates also submitted reports of their respective segments, he added.

    As many as 44 BJP candidates had won in the 2017 polls.

    While Jubbal-Kotkhai MLA Narinder Bragta recently died due to post-COVID complications, Assembly Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar was not supposed to submit his report as he is in a constitutional position.

    Besides, dissident BJP MLA from Mandi Anil Sharma also did not submit his report.

    One of the 24 defeated BJP candidates from Rampur, Prem Singh Daraik, also did not give his report as he is currently not a party member.

    The BJP chief spokesperson said the candidates and legislators had submitted their report cards during the three-day ‘Chintan Baithak’ of BJP that concluded in Shimla on Thursday.

    During the meeting, it was decided that June 25 would be observed as a black day to mark the anniversary of the imposition of Emergency in the country by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, he added.

  • Himachal Pradesh BJP MLA and chief whip Narinder Bragta dies of COVID-19

    By PTI
    SHIMLA: Chief whip in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly and BJP MLA Narinder Bragta died due to COVID-19 at PGI Chandigarh on Saturday morning, his son Chetan Bragta tweeted. He was 68.

    Chetan Bragta, in a tweet, said his father succumbed to the virus after a long struggle against it. The three-time MLA was also the Chief Whip of the BJP in the state assembly. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had visited PGI Chandigarh on Friday evening to enquire about his health.

    मेरे पिता व हम सभी के प्रिय भारतीय जनता पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेता, पूर्व मंत्री, हिमाचल प्रदेश सरकार में मुख्य सचेतक श्री नरेन्द्र बरागटा जी स्वास्थ्य से सम्बंधित लम्बे संघर्ष के बाद अपने जीवन की अंतिम लड़ाई हार गए। pic.twitter.com/B02gGbr40T
    — Chetan Bragta (@chetanbragta) June 5, 2021

    Thakur termed his demise an irreparable loss for Himachal Pradesh, especially for Jubbal-Kotkhai. Narinder Bragta was first time elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 1998 from Shimla Constituency.

    He was re-elected in December 2007 from Jubbal-Kotkhai. He remained Minister of State for Horticulture (Independent Charge) 1998-02 and Horticulture, Technical Education and Health Minister from December 30, 2007 to December 2012.

    He was re-elected to the 13th Vidhan Sabha from Jubbal-Kotkhai for the third term in December 2017.

  • No need for lockdown in Himachal Pradesh, says CM Jai Ram Thakur

    By PTI

    HAMIRPUR: There is no need of imposing a lockdown in Himachal Pradesh as the state government is doing its best to deal with the COVID-19 situation, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Monday.

    He said the government was working on a mechanism under which the dreaded virus would be contained, and the economy of the state strengthened.

    People’s cooperation is the need of the hour to combat coronavirus, he said, noting that people’s cooperation was seen missing this time and they should come forward to tackle this situation by observing all COVID related norms.

    He said vaccination along with wearing face masks, social distancing and washing hands repeatedly are the main weapons to deal with the virus.

    Replying to a question, he said the BJP was united and would win the Mandi Lok Sabha and Fatehpur Assembly bypoll with ease as the people were happy with the performance of the BJP-led governments both at the Centre and in the state.

    ALSO READ: Starting 10 pm tonight, Delhi to be under lockdown till Monday morning

    On the issue of helping families who have lost family members to COVID-19, he said since their number was high, a final decision to this effect would be taken after thorough discussions.

    Thakur said the government was keeping a watch on the drought situation and would be ensured that there is no water crisis in any part of the state and adequate supply of water would be made available to the people.

    Replying to a question about his visit to Samirpur to meet former chief minister P K Dhumal, he said it was a courtesy call.

    Dhumal is a senior leader and his suggestions are vital for running the government, he added.

    To a question, he said media personnel would also be vaccinated on a priority basis.

    The COVID-19 death toll in Himachal Pradesh rose to 1,177 on Sunday with 10 more fatalities, while 788 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 76,375.

  • Tourists will not be ‘harassed’ for COVID-19 report on Himachal borders: CM

    As majority of the visitors will stay in hotels, the administration has put in place a mechanism to check the visitors from the seven states on their arrival at the place of their stay, he added.

  • HP Assembly passes Bill giving honorarium to people jailed during 1975 National Emergency

    By PTI
    SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Saturday passed a Bill giving honorarium to people from the state who were imprisoned for social or political reasons during the National Emergency imposed in 1975.

    Eighty-one beneficiaries, called “Loktantra Prahris”, have so far been identified and they will be given Rs 8,000 in case of imprisonment up to 15 days.

    Those who spent over 15 days will be given Rs 12,000, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said introducing the Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahri Samman Bill, 2021.

    The CM said during the Emergency period from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977, several people fought for the protection of the fundamental rights and safeguarding the democracy.

    The state government has decided to give an honorarium to those who actively participated in the protection of democracy and went to jails.

    Spouses of the deceased “Loktantra Prahris” will also be eligible for the honorarium, he added.

    Thakur said a committee will be constituted to consider the claims of the applicants.

    A person who has been punished by a court on charges of moral turpitude will be ineligible for the honorarium, he said.

    During a discussion on the Bill, Congress MLA Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu suggested that people who were imprisoned during the Emergency for vandalism should not be given the honorarium.

    Sukhu demanded that the term “Loktantra Prahri” should be changed as it is a wider term which also includes people such as RTI activists and journalists.

    He also alleged that only people associated with the BJP will be given the honorarium.

    Thakur replied that the BJP was not in existence in 1975 and people from various ideological backgrounds, including journalists, who raised their voice against it will be given the honorarium, if eligible.

    During the period of the Emergency, democracy in our country was crushed, he said, adding that several states such as Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra have enacted similar laws to honour those who spoke up against it.