BJP alleges bias, targets Cong after HAS officer seeks VRS

The BJP has launched a scathing attack on the ruling Congress government after senior HAS officer Sanjeev Bhot, serving as Dharamsala SDM, applied for voluntary retirement.

Speaking to The Tribune, former Speaker of the Himachal Assembly and BJP MLA from Sullah constituency, Vipin Singh Parmar, alleged that not only common government employees but even senior administrative officers were feeling “suffocated” under the present government. He claimed that many senior bureaucrats were applying for central deputation to escape the current environment.

Parmar said the decision of a senior HAS officer to seek VRS while alleging discrimination against Scheduled Tribe (ST) officers was a serious matter. “For the first time, officers are opting to resign instead of serving in an otherwise peaceful state like Himachal,” he said.

He further alleged that the recent death of a Chief Engineer-rank officer, Bimal Negi, highlighted the deteriorating situation. “His family has been protesting on the streets demanding a CBI inquiry and after failing to get justice from the government, they have now moved the Himachal High Court,” Parmar said.

He added that it was alarming that Sanjeev Bhot, hailing from a tribal area, had now said he did not want to meet the same fate as Bimal Negi.

Himachal Tribune