By Vishal Rana, Hamirpur:
A ceremony intended to celebrate women’s empowerment became the stage for a blistering political attack on Thursday, with Congress MLA Suresh Kumar accusing the ruling BJP of hypocrisy, financial impropriety, and being a party deeply divided into competing factions.
The event, organized by BJP leader Rajendra Rana, was labelled a “grand deception” by the legislator from Bhoranj, who claimed that the very party championing women’s rights harbours individuals facing serious allegations of mistreating women.
Addressing a press conference, Suresh Kumar launched a direct assault on the event’s organizer. “Those who chant slogans of women’s empowerment have their own people embroiled in serious allegations of harassing women,” Kumar stated. “They should first investigate the charges against themselves and their associates. This event is nothing but a major betrayal of women.”
He specifically targeted BJP leader Rajendra Rana, accusing him of levelling false allegations against the state government and the Chief Minister while evading accountability for accusations against himself. “He has consistently shied away from placing the truth about the ‘Woodvilla’ matter before the public,” Kumar alleged.
The Congress MLA further claimed that the state government is actively investigating the matter, and the pace of the probe has recently been intensified.
Kumar then pivoted to allegations of financial misconduct, posing a series of direct questions to Rana. He demanded transparency on Rana’s alleged connections with Dubai-based ‘Devotion Corporation Services’ and raised serious questions about funds collected in the name of the ‘Sarvakalyanakari Trust’.
“Why is he not getting this trust audited?” Kumar questioned. “By what authority is this money coming, and where is it being used?”
He named several companies—including Crust Life Science, Tanishka Pharmaceuticals, and Mitra Industries—alleging that each had contributed sums of two lakh rupees or more to the sarvkalyankari trust.
Expanding his criticism to the state BJP at large, MLA Suresh Kumar delivered a scathing assessment of its internal health. He declared that the party has been “captured by fugitives who have come from the Congress,” leading to a deep fragmentation.
“This is the reason why the BJP is now divided into five factions,” he claimed, citing a recent event in Sarakhad as evidence of the infighting. He alleged that key party figures, including women leaders and the local MP, were deliberately excluded from the event.
“It was solely to settle political scores,” Kumar asserted, suggesting that former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur was orchestrating slogans in Hamirpur in retaliation for slogans raised for Anurag Thakur in Mandi. “This proves that the BJP has disintegrated. The day is not far when a big explosion is going to occur within the BJP.”
Suresh Kumar concluded by stating that the women honoured at the event were themselves “highly displeased” with the proceedings and felt cheated.
The press conference was attended by Sujanpur MLA Captain Ranjit Singh Rana, former MLA Kuldeep Pathania, Hamirpur Congress leaders Dr. Puspendra Verma, Rajesh Anand, and other party workers, signalling a united front for the Congress’s offensive.