BJYM burns effigies of Cong leaders to protest ‘misuse’ of state funds

Tensions flared in Kullu on Friday as members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) staged a protest, burning effigies of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi amid loud slogans and a brief scuffle with the police. The demonstration was triggered by allegations that the state government had allocated over Rs 2 crore in advertisements to the National Herald newspaper, a publication linked to the Congress party.

Leading the charge, BJYM state president Tilak Raj Sharma sharply criticised the state government, accusing it of misusing public money at a time when citizens were grappling with economic hardships. “The CM repeatedly talks about the state’s financial burden, yet crores are being funnelled into advertisements for agencies that have no relevance to Himachal,” he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Kullu district BJP president Amit Sood condemned what he called blatant political favouritism. “This money belongs to the people of Himachal Pradesh, not for subsidising Congress-affiliated newspapers,” he stated. He accused the government of prioritising political propaganda over public welfare.

Further allegations came from BJYM Kullu president Janesh Thakur, who claimed that more than Rs 2 crore had been funnelled to the National Herald and Navjeevan newspapers in the past two years, allegedly bypassing standard protocols. He also pointed to unusually rapid payment processing, alleging that in some instances, payments were made twice in a single day. Thakur declared that the BJYM would continue to expose and oppose such “misgovernance.”

The protest drew several prominent BJP figures, including Banjar MLA Surender Shourie, Narotam Thakur, and State Mahila Morcha Secretary Manisha Sood, underscoring the party’s united stance against the alleged financial mismanagement by the state government.

Himachal Tribune