Congress vs BJP in Himachal Pradesh over CM Sukhu’s ‘missing samosas’: What exactly happened?
In Himachal Pradesh, political tensions are escalating around lost ‘samosas’, yes, you read it right. A Bharatiya Janata Party leader ordered 11 samosas’ for chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The move comes after the Congress-led government in the hill state ordered an alleged inquiry into an incident where samosas meant for the chief minister were mistakenly served to his security staff.
Ashish Sharma, a BJP MLA from Himachal’s Hamirpur, who sent samosas to the Chief Minister’s residence, took to social media to criticise the Sukhu government’s focus on trivial matters rather than addressing pressing issues like climate change, unemployment and financial crises.
In his Facebook post, Sharma said that while citizens struggle for their basic rights, the government should prioritise significant challenges rather than engage in inconsequential inquiries.
“In protest against this folly, I have sent 11 samosas to remind the chief minister of the urgent need to address the real problems faced by the people,” he stated.
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, organised a demonstration in Shimla, distributing samosas and denouncing the government’s ineffectiveness in addressing critical issues.
Samosa politics: What exactly happened in Himachal Pradesh
On October 21, Chief Minister Sukhu attended an event at the CID headquarters in Shimla where the samosas, along with cakes meant for him, were mistakenly given to his staff.
Soon after the incident, a senior CID official noted that the incident warranted investigation due to its perceived anti-government implications citing the protocols.
The case of the ‘missing samosas’ is now being investigated by the CID wing of the police.
Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha, DG CID said the CID had only asked its team about what had happened and it was an internal matter.
“This is completely an internal matter of the CID. It should not be politicised. The CM does not eat samosas… We have not given notice to anyone. We have just said to find out what happened. The government has nothing to do with this… We will find out how this information was leaked,” he said.
BJP vs Cong on ‘missing samosas’
BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, state BJP vice-president and Kangra MP Rajiv Bhardwaj raised questions about what essential matters could have warranted an inquiry into samosas.
The BJP’s media in-charge, Karan Nanda, lamented the government’s failures, noting that Himachal Pradesh, once revered as “dev bhoomi,” is now in the spotlight for controversies like toilet tax and inquiries over snacks.
In contrast, Congress leaders accused the BJP of politicising the incident to undermine the chief minister.
CM Sukhu clarified that the inquiry related to “misbehaviour” from officials, but media coverage shifted the focus to the samosas, accusing the BJP of launching a smear campaign against the Congress government since their electoral victory.