A NO-CONFIDENCE motion moved by the Congress and the CPI(M) against the Jai Ram Thakur Government in Himachal Pradesh was defeated by voice vote in the State Assembly on Thursday.

The Opposition MLAs walked out of the House during Chief Minister Thakur’s reply to the debate on the motion.

The House witnessed a stormy debate as the Opposition members targeted the BJP Government over law and order, unemployment, price rise and other issues.

The ruling BJP rejected the charges claiming the Opposition has failed to come up with any concrete issue.

The Opposition parties moved the motion, just four months before the state is going to the Assembly polls.

Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, Congress MLAs Jagat Singh Negi, Ram Lal Thakur, Harshwardhan Chauhan, Sukhvinder Sukhu and lone CPI(M) legislator Rakesh Singha spoke in support of the motion.

Chief Minister Thakur, his Cabinet colleagues Rakesh Pathania, Bikram Singh Thakur, Sukh Ram Chaudhary and BJP MLA Rajeev Bindal spoke for the Government. Starting the debate at 11 am, Mukesh Agnihotri said the law and order situation in the State has deteriorated under the BJP Government.He said 354 murders, 1,574 rapes and 7,406 sexual harassment cases have so far been reported in the State under the Thakur-led Government.

He said an assistant town and country planner, Shail Bala, was shot dead in broad daylight while a Supreme Court-mandated drive to demolish illegal structures in 13 hotels of Solan district was being carried out in 2018.

Agnihotri said the probe into a paper leak during the recruitment of constables was not handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) despite the CM’s announcement.

Congress legislator Jagat Singh Negi said the CM has gained the reputation of a “helicopter waale mukhyamantri” and “hoardings waale Mukhyamantri” for excessive use of choppers and hoardings by him. Congress MLA Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said it should be made public why the State Government removed Chief Secretary Anil Kumar Khachi from his post. The lone CPI(M) MLA, Rakesh Singha, said he knew that the motion will be defeated but he signed the notice for it to raise issues like the old-pension scheme (OPS). Replying to the debate, Chief Minister Thakur said he has already raised the pension issue with the Centre. “Let us see what happens,” he said urging the Opposition not to politicise it.