Himachal CM has no time for state: Union Minister

Shimla, Sep 18 (IANS) Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had no time for the state as he was busy fighting cases against him in courts.

"The Chief Minister is on bail and continuously busy with his court cases. He has no time for the state," the Minister told reporters here.

Virbhadra Singh is facing accusations of money laundering and amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as Union Minister. The cases were probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.

Prasad, who was in the state capital for the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Hisab Mangey Himachal' campaign, said the state had failed to make optimum use of central funds for developmental projects.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on giving adequate funds to Himachal Pradesh, but the state government is not interested in utilising these appropriately. The Himachal government is not implementing schemes quickly," he said.

The Centre has allocated many national highways to the hill state but it has failed to even formulate detailed project reports, thus delaying these deliberately, Prasad, a senior BJP leader, said.

Appealing to the people to vote for the BJP in the Himachal assembly elections in November, he said: "The state government doesn't want the Centre to take credit for the projects sanctioned for the state."

On the gang rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Himachal, the Minister said the case had exposed the state government's intentions.

"It's for the first time that a police officer of the rank of Inspector General is in jail for breaking law," he said.

"As a Law Minister, I have written to all Chief Justices and Chief Ministers for time-bound justice to rape victims through fast-track courts," Prasad added.

Terming the action against him as a "well planned conspiracy" to destroy his public image ahead of the assembly polls, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has blamed the Enforcement Directorate for concealing facts and giving out a concocted value of assets seized to sensationalise matters.