Shimla, May 3
In a statement issued from Shimla, former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that more than three and a half years have passed since the formation of the so‑called “government of change” led by Sukh. At the time of elections, the Congress party had guaranteed ₹1500 per month to women aged 18 to 59 years. During that period, Congress workers collected ₹1500 forms from women across the state, which have since been gathering dust in Congress headquarters and other offices.
During the Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Minister again announced the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukha Samman Nidhi, but this time the government imposed several eligibility conditions, which were shocking. Even so, nearly 10 lakh women in the state filled out the forms, spending their own time and money to prepare documents and repeatedly visiting offices. More than two years have passed since the announcement of this scheme, yet there is no trace of those 10 lakh forms. Today, women across the state are demanding to know the status of the forms they submitted with such effort and expense. Where are those forms? When will they be approved? This is the right of the women of Himachal Pradesh.
Jai Ram Thakur further said that earlier this year, the Chief Minister had publicly announced in Manali and Sulah that from April onwards, women in those constituencies would start receiving ₹1500 in their accounts. April has passed, May has arrived, but not a single woman has received a single rupee. The question is: when will the women of Manali and Sulah actually get the money? And more importantly, why only two constituencies? Why not every woman across the state?
Thakur added that more than 42 months have passed since the formation of the Sukh government, and every woman aged 18 to 59 is owed 42 installments. This promise was not made by local Congress leaders at street corners, but by the party’s top national leadership, including the current Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and senior ministers. Ahead of the Panchayat elections, they must explain to the women of Himachal Pradesh the current status of the guarantees they gave and the forms they collected. In the upcoming local body and Assembly elections, Congress will face the consequences of deceiving women. In the Assembly elections too, they will reap the fruits of their betrayal.
