Himachal BJP MLA claims ads worth crores given to National Herald, Sukhu govt hits back

Shimla: BJP MLA from Dharamshala Sudhir Sharma on Saturday alleged that the Congress-led Himachal government was misusing public money by giving advertisements worth crores of rupees to newspapers like National Herald, which are neither sold nor seen in the state.

Talking to media persons here, he alleged that money was being misused when neither the pensions nor the salaries of the government employees were being given on time in the state.

Refuting BJP leaders' claims of giving Rs 2.34 crore to the National Herald in the form of advertisements, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government said that the allegations are "baseless and far from the truth".

In a statement, chief minister's media advisor Naresh Chauhan said that during the last two-and-a-half years, advertisements worth rupees one crore had been given to the newspaper, whereas the BJP, during Jai Ram Thakur's tenure, released advertisements worth crores of rupees to their mouthpiece journals and magazines.

Meanwhile, Union health minister J P Nadda reached Himachal as part of his two-day visit to the state.

He was accorded a grand welcome by party leaders and workers after he landed at Kangra airport.

Nadda left for Chamba by road, where he was scheduled to address a public meeting and also hold discussions with senior party leaders.

The BJP chief, who was scheduled to reach Chamba by 2 pm, reached around 5 pm as the chopper was not available.