Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sohu. File | Photo Credit: PTI
A day ago, an erroneous supply of snacks to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu escalated into a major controversy that required a CID probe. On March 8), former BJP leader Satpal Satti claimed that the Congress government had become a “laughing stock” by ordering an “inquiry into samosas”.
“The police should focus on the many scandals from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Secretariat instead of wasting time on trivial matters,” Sati said in a statement.
The incident took place on October 21 when samosas and cakes prepared for the chief minister who was visiting the CID headquarters were accidentally delivered to his security personnel, leading the CID to launch an investigation, calling it “anti-government” “Behavior.
Also read: Congress dissolves entire party unit in Himachal Pradesh
“It is surprising to investigate such a small issue and then call this mistake anti-government. I feel the Congress government does not care about the people as their main concern is how to provide samosa triangle in their functions dumpling.
However, the chief minister’s media adviser Naresh Chauhan claimed that the state government had not ordered any investigation and that it could be an internal matter of the CID.
“This incident has nothing to do with the government. Some people are hatching a conspiracy to give a bad impression to the government. The BJP should behave like a responsible opposition,” Mr Chouhan said.
Reiterating that it was an internal matter, CID director Ranjhan Ojha said: “The chief minister was the chief guest at the launch ceremony of the cyber crime unit’s data centre.”
“After the event, the officials were having tea in the office and someone asked where the food for the event was and we said,”find out what happened’ (Understand what happened).
“We did not issue any notice and did not ask for any explanation. The matter should not be politicized. We only asked for clarification on what happened and submitted a written report. We have no intention of taking action against anyone.”
Meanwhile, BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma said in a statement: “The state government is not concerned about the development of Himachal Pradesh. Its only focus seems to be “the chief minister’s samosas”. The incident highlighted a lack of coordination between officials and staff and negligence on the part of staff.
BJP spokesperson Chetan Bragata intensified the attack in a video statement, saying the “investigation into samosas” showed the state government’s “misplaced priorities”, especially as the public is grappling with amidst several pressing questions.
“Development work has come to a standstill in the last two years and the Chief Minister should focus on these things instead of these small things,” Mr Bagata said.
Published – November 8, 2024 at 3:50 pm (IST)
