Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Samosas and cakes meant for Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu were served to his security staff instead, the goof-up snowballing into controversy and necessitating a CID probe that termed it an “anti-government” act.
Those responsible acted according to their own agenda, a highly placed official in the CID said in his note on the October 21 incident when the Chief Minister was visiting the CID headquarters.
Attacking the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, the opposition BJP said the Sukhu dispensation is not concerned about the development of the state but its only concern seems to be the “Chief Minister’s Samosa”.
The brouhaha started when three boxes of refreshments were brought from Hotel Radisson Blue in Lakkar Bazaar to be served to the Chief Minister who had gone to the CID headquarters to attend a function. However, the eatables were served to the CM security staff, according to the enquiry report conducted by a deputy SP rank officer.
The report stated that an officer of IG rank had asked a sub-inspector (SI) of police to get some eatables from the hotel for the CM’s visit. The SI in turn directed an assistant SI (ASI) and a head constable to bring the refreshments.
The ASI and the head constable fetched the refreshments from the hotel in three sealed boxes and informed the SI.
The police officers in their statement said when they asked the tourism department staff on duty whether the snacks in the three boxes were to be served to the Chief Minister, they said they were not included in the menu.
The enquiry report said only the said SI, who deputed the ASI and the head constable with the task of getting the snacks from the hotel, was aware of the fact that the three boxes were for Mr. Sukhu.
The lady inspector, to whom the food items were handed over, did not ask any senior officer and sent the refreshments to the mechanical transport (MT) section which deals with refreshments.
The three boxes of refreshments exchanged several hands in the process.
Anti-government act?
Interestingly, a highly placed official in the CID department wrote in his noting that all persons named in the enquiry report have acted in anti-CID and anti-government manner due to which the items could not be served to the VVIPs.
They acted according to their own agenda, the note added.
The controversy has given the BJP an opportunity to slam the Sukhu government.
“The State government is not concerned about the development of the state and its only concern seems to be the ‘Chief Minister’s Samosa’,” said BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma in a statement issued here on Thursday.
He said the recent incident related to the samosas brought for Mr. Sukhu has given rise to a controversy. In the investigation, the mistake was termed as an “anti-government” act which is a big word, he said.
“This incident has become a topic of discussion in the political circles of Himachal Pradesh. In fact, the government machinery is embarrassed due to such coordination problems in a programme related to a VVIP like the chief minister,” Mr. Sharma said.
Published – November 08, 2024 02:05 pm IST