SHIMLA, March 29: The Himachal Pradesh Assembly witnessed another sharp face-off on Saturday, with Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur targeting Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu over remarks made during the ongoing Himcare debate in the House.
Speaking during the discussion on cut motions, Jairam alleged that the Chief Minister, while replying to issues linked to Himcare treatment records on Friday, referred to prostate cancer treatment in a medically incorrect manner. He used that point to accuse the government of defending itself in the Assembly with flawed or incomplete information.
Jairam maintained that the treatment packages being cited in the debate were linked to cancer care and not to the kind of surgical explanation being projected during the exchange. That turned what was already a heated Himcare discussion into one of the sharpest political confrontations of the session so far.
Himcare Records Turn Into Fresh Political Flashpoint
What began as a debate over treatment records under the Himcare scheme quickly took on a larger political colour inside the House. Jairam Thakur accused the government of offering a confusing explanation while trying to counter allegations linked to health treatment entries.
He told the Assembly that the treatment package being referred to was related to cancer care under a category associated with ovarian cancer medicines, and claimed that the patients cited in the discussion included male beneficiaries, including an elderly man and a child. On that basis, the Opposition questioned how such medical records were being explained by the government on the floor of the House.
Jairam also alleged that the Congress government was repeatedly trying to discredit Himcare because the scheme had been launched under the previous BJP government. The issue has surfaced more than once during the budget session and has steadily become a political point of attack between both sides.
Opposition Expands Attack to Health Services on Ground
Jairam Thakur did not limit his criticism to the Himcare records alone. During the debate, he also raised broader concerns about health services, including the removal of staff engaged during the Covid period and shortages in government hospitals.
He cited Dehra hospital as an example, saying that despite the posting of a surgeon, the absence of an operation theatre assistant was forcing patients to be referred elsewhere. The remark was used to argue that the government was defending paperwork in the Assembly while basic service gaps continued on the ground.
Chief Minister Sukhu, in his response, accused Jairam of twisting facts for political mileage and said the opposition was selectively presenting issues. By the end of the exchange, the Himcare row had once again moved beyond health policy and into a direct credibility fight between the treasury and opposition benches.
