Himachal cabinet removes Sibal, Chidamaram, Khurshid as special public prosecutors
Hindustan Times 2018-01-12 12:00:00
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Former Union ministers and Congress leaders Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid were removed as Himachal Pradesh government’s special public prosecutors in the Supreme Court.(PTI FILE PHOTO)
The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday decided to withdraw all “politically-motivated” cases instituted by the previous Congress government, including those against Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).
The cabinet, which met here and was chaired by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, also removed former Union ministers Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid as special public prosecutors. The three Congress leaders were hired by the previous Virbhadra Singh government to contest cases against HPCA in the Supreme Court.
The Congress government had filed four FIRs against HPCA and its former president Anurag Thakur for cheating and encroachment on government land.
Thakur is the son of BJP leader and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. He is also a Lok Sabha Member from Hamirpur.
The cabinet also decided to institute a probe as to why expensive lawyers were hired and why public money was spent on them.
LIQUOR PRICES TO FALL
In another major decision, the cabinet decided to reverse liquor sales policy and conduct a probe into the losses incurred to the state exchequer in the last two years due to ‘wrong’ excise policy and setting up of Himachal Pradesh Beverages Limited (HPBL).
The price of liquor in the state is expected to fall following the decision of the cabinet.
It was decided in the meeting that HPBL will be wound up and the old wholesale system of liquor trade will be restored. Licences for liquor sale on form L-1D and L-13D will be discontinued. Also, the licences will be granted to only Himachal residents.
The cabinet also decided to increase procurement price of citrus fruits, under the Market Intervention Scheme.