MLA Chander Shekhar has accused Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur of using Sardar Patel University (SPU), Mandi as a political tool. He said that Jai Ram Thakur was attempting to sideline and hinder the development of Mandi district under the pretext of issues such as Shivdham and SPU.
He clarified that the state government has no intention of shutting down Sardar Patel University, and no proposal was under consideration to transfer B.Ed. colleges to Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). On the contrary, the present state government was making concerted efforts to strengthen the university to ensure that students receive quality education at the institution.
He said that the executive council of the university has formulated a blueprint for its future development and it had recommended introducing new courses in the campus. The state government was set to introduce five-year LLB, B.Ed. and B.Tech courses in the SPU in a phased manner.
He said that the university was able to sustain its operations primarily through grants provided by the state government. Apart from this, the Sardar Patel University building in Sundernagar was being utilized and a claim to transfer the building was entirely baseless.
Chander Shekhar said that the Leader of Opposition was making baseless statements and misleading the public just to provoke their sentiments to malign the image of the government, whereas the reality was entirely different.
He said that the state government was consistently taking steps to enhance the quality of education. It was Jai Ram Thakur who lowered the eligibility criteria for B.Ed from 45 percent to 33 percent during his tenure as Chief Minister which led to the decline in the standard of education.
The MLA further said that the present state government has allocated Rs. 100 crore for the completion of ‘Shivdham’ which was one of the dream projects of Jai Ram Thakur, whereas despite being Chief Minister, he made no budgetary provision for it during his tenure. He said that the state government was committed to the development of Mandi district and urged Jai Ram Thakur to refrain from making baseless allegations.
MLA Chander Shekhar Accuses Jai Ram Thakur of Using SPU as a Political Tool
