Himachal Pradesh

Shimla/Kullu, Nov 17 (PTI) The naked bodies of a couple believed to be from Russia were found at a small pond near the holy town of Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, police said on Friday.

The bodies found Thursday bore some injury marks. Police said it appeared to be a case of suicide, but did not rule out the possibility of murder.

Shimla, Dec 11 (PTI) Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, a four-time MLA, was on Sunday sworn in as the 15th chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in a ceremony attended by senior party figures including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Sukhu, 58, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at a ceremony under the open sky at the historic Ridge ground here.

Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister.

Shimla, Nov 5 (PTI) Reviving the old pension scheme, 300 units of free power, a Rs 680-crore StartUp fund, one lakh jobs and Rs 1,500 per month for women between 18 to 60 years are among the promises the Congress made in its manifesto for the Himachal Pradesh polls.

The party also said it is contesting the November 12 election under a collective leadership and will decide on the chief ministerial candidate after discussion with elected MLAs and the party's high command.

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Former Himachal Pradesh BJP president Khimi Ram on Tuesday joined the Congress.

Ram, a former minister and deputy speaker in the state, said he takes pride in joining the party that helped the country attain freedom.

"I am not joining the Congress out of any anger towards the BJP. I have taken a well-thought out decision to take the Congress forward in Himachal Pradesh," he said.

Dharamshala, May 8 (PTI) Khalistan flags were found tied on the main gate and slogans scrawled on the walls of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly complex, police said on Sunday.

The flags were put up on the outer side of the main gate number one of the assembly complex. They were removed by the administration.

The winter session of the HP assembly usually held in Dharamshala.

Shimla, May 2 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party has expelled its Himachal Pradesh social media incharge Harpreet Singh Bedi over his alleged pro-Khalistan tweets.

The move came after the ruling BJP on Sunday accused Bedi of openly supporting Khalistan, alleging that he had put out a series of tweets in its support some years ago.

In a tweet, the state unit of AAP said, "Views expressed by Harpreet Singh Bedi in his tweets are against Aam Aadmi Party's ideology & do not represent the opinion of the party in any way."

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Several local leaders from Himachal Pradesh, including those from the Congress, joined the AAP in presence of it's national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence here on Friday, the party said.

Welcoming them, Kejriwal said people of Himachal Pradesh, after seeing the work of his government in Delhi, want "an honest and corruption-free government in their state as well".

Shimla, Mar 2 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh is currently facing a debt burden of Rs 63,200 crore, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed the state assembly on Wednesday.

Replying to discussion on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar's address in the ongoing budget session, Thakur stated that the state's debt burden was about Rs 48,000 crore till 2017-18 financial year.

The previous Congress government had taken a loan of Rs 28,707 crore from 2012-13 to 2017-18 during its five years tenure, he added.

Mandi (HP), Nov 30 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh government has dismissed a senior civil judge from the state judicial services on the recommendations of the high court after corruption charges levelled against him were found to be true, a notification issued by the state home department stated.

Gaurav Sharma was posted as the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) of Sundernagar in Mandi district when he was caught red-handed while taking Rs 40,000 as bribe from a local resident Ashwani Saini four years ago.

Dharamsala, Nov 23 (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday suffered a setback in Himachal Pradesh after its state unit vice-president Kripal Parmar resigned from his post.

He posted his resignation letter addressed to state party president Suresh Kashyap on Facebook.

"I, Kripal Parmar, vice-president, Himachal BJP, am sending my resignation from the party post. Kindly accept it. I will explain the reason in separate letters," the letter stated.