By: Express News ServiceShimla | December 11, 2025 09:18 PM IST 4 min readJai Ram Thakur said the rally held in disaster-affected Mandi should have been postponed. (File photo)Terming the Congress’s Jan Sankalp Sammelan a complete flop, the BJP Thursday questioned the logic of spending taxpayer’s money on a “celebration rally” in a disaster-hit district, and took a swipe at Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s claim that Congress MLAs would “arrive in a 52-seater Volvo bus” after winning the 2027 elections.“The Chief Minister had forgotten what he has done to the people of Himachal. In that 52-seater Volvo bus, only the driver and conductor will be there; the rest of the bus will be empty,” Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said while addressing a press conference at the BJP office, Sundernagar.Thakur said the rally held in disaster-affected Mandi should have been postponed, but the government was “busy celebrating” despite severe losses caused by natural calamities. “Instead of applying balm to the wounds of the affected families, the government sprinkled salt.”He said that the public had witnessed how the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister “glared at each other” and vented anger from the stage. “People, officials and employees were shocked to see this. The stage was meant to talk about disaster relief, not internal grudges,” he added.Must Read | CM Rural Road Development Scheme: Jai Ram accuses CM of allocating funds only to Cong MLAs and neglecting BJP legislatorsThe former chief minister said that although Congress leaders had announced that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi would attend the rally, but none of them turned up. He pointed out that former CM Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh as well as her son, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, were absent. “Not even their photographs were displayed on posters or flex banners at the venue. It is clear that the Holly Lodge family has distanced itself from this rally,” he said.Thakur alleged that Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri publicly rebuked the Chief Minister on stage. He said that the absence of the Holly Lodge family showed that “Congress leaders associated with the legacy of Virbhadra Singh are being sidelined by CM Sukhu and his associates”.The LoP said that the event, which the government claimed was meant to present its vision, was used only to blame the Centre and the previous BJP government. “The Sukhu government has made it clear that for the next two years, they will continue to blame the Centre. I had said earlier that this government has no vision; today it became evident,” he said.Story continues below this adHe claimed that nearly Rs 10 crore from the state exchequer was spent on the rally. “Was this money spent so that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister could fight in public? Shouldn’t this money have gone to disaster victims?” he asked.Also Read | Jai Ram questions Cong govt’s 3-year celebration with state still recovering from disasterThe former CM claimed that people were brought to the rally forcibly and government employees were pressured to attend. “Even schoolchildren were made to sit in buses and sent to Paddal Ground. ITI students were pushed into the venue. Despite that, the rally failed,” he said.The opposition party also slammed Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri’s remarks on the state bureaucracy. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan, BJP spokesman and MLA Randhir Sharma condemned Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri’s comment that bureaucrats “will be dealt with in the dark of night” if they act against the government. “Threatening officers, warning them of being crushed, and using language about destroying them is not democratic — it reflects a dictatorial mindset,” Mahajan said.He said that the Congress government was deeply involved in misuse of power and was not hesitating to intimidate democratic institutions.Story continues below this adMahajan said the event was less about achievements and more about preparing the ground for the 2027 elections. “Whatever they could not do in three years, they are now trying to do in the next two. They are just trying to mislead people,” he said. He accused the government of misusing official machinery by bringing beneficiaries under the guise of government schemes and turning them into participants of a political rallyStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Himachal PradeshJai Ram Thakur