The seventh day of the winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Dharamshala saw tense moments on Thursday, as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators staged a walkout. The walkout took place soon after the question hour, following protests over the alleged use of force by the police against members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The issue was raised by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, who strongly criticised the police action during a confrontation between ABVP activists and security personnel near the Zorawar Stadium on Wednesday. According to ABVP leaders, a group of students was marching towards the Himachal Pradesh Assembly to press for their demands when the police allegedly used force to stop them. They claimed that around ten students sustained injuries during the scuffle.
Images and videos shared by the student organisation showed young activists being stopped at the barricades, which led to pushing and shoving between the two sides. The ABVP said that the police had no reason to stop them because their march from the taxi stand to the stadium had already been granted official permission by the authorities.
Police officials, however, presented a different version of the incident. They stated that the protest escalated only after the students attempted to break barricades and move beyond the permitted route. They also reported that around eight police personnel, including three women constables, were injured in the confrontation. The police maintained that the protest blocked traffic for several hours, causing inconvenience to the public.
When the matter was raised on the floor of the Assembly, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu responded firmly. He explained that the ABVP activists had been stopped only when they tried to move towards the Vidhan Sabha by breaking police barricades. He clarified that the permission granted to the student group was limited to a specific route—from the taxi stand to Zorawar Stadium—and did not allow them to march towards the Assembly complex. According to the Chief Minister, “They blocked traffic for three and a half hours. They were not stopped on the permitted route. The scuffle took place only when they attempted to go beyond it.”
CM Sukhu accused the BJP of turning the matter into a political issue for their own advantage. He said that the Opposition was using the incident as an excuse to attend a party rally and was staging a walkout for political gain rather than out of genuine concern for the students. His comments drew strong reactions from Opposition members, who walked out of the Assembly in protest. They argued that the students’ rights had been violated and that the government was trying to silence their voice by justifying police action.
Despite the heated exchanges, the Assembly continued its proceedings. The protest and subsequent walkout became the central political event of the day, drawing attention to the tense relationship between the government and the Opposition during the winter session.
Earlier in the day, before the walkout occurred, the Assembly also discussed the issue of the old pension scheme (OPS). Responding to a question raised by Jai Ram Thakur, CM Sukhu said that the decision to restore the old pension scheme was taken out of concern for the social security of government employees, not for political reasons. He added that the Congress-led government had implemented the scheme during its very first cabinet meeting after coming to power.
The Chief Minister explained that the state had provided OPS benefits to 1.36 lakh employees, despite facing financial challenges. He added that the central government had cut off Himachal Pradesh’s additional borrowing limit of ₹1,600 crore as a result of the decision. A written reply presented in the Assembly revealed that between December 2022 and October 2025, a total of 26,324 state employees retired, and out of them, 5,356 employees moved from the New Pension Scheme (NPS) to OPS after the government restored it.
The discussion on pensions was followed by a separate question from BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar regarding the Chief Minister’s recent visit to London. Parmar sought details about the expenses incurred during the trip, and whether the visit had been funded by the state government.
CM Sukhu addressed the House on the matter, clarifying that the visit was strictly personal. He explained that he had travelled to London to complete formalities related to his daughter’s admission and that all expenses were paid from his own pocket. He emphasised that not even a single rupee of government money was used for the visit. Interestingly, Sukhu had to deliver this clarification after the question hour because MLA Parmar, who had asked the question, was absent at the time.
The Chief Minister’s statement sought to put an end to speculation surrounding his foreign trip, which had been discussed widely on social media and in political circles. By reaffirming that the visit was personal and self-funded, Sukhu attempted to dispel any doubts regarding misuse of public funds.
As the Assembly session progressed, the combination of political tensions, heated debates, and clarifications on administrative matters made the seventh day of the winter session one of the most eventful so far. The clash between ABVP activists and police continued to dominate public discussion, with both sides presenting different accounts of what transpired. With both the Opposition and the government standing firmly by their positions, the issue is likely to remain a point of contention in the coming days of the session.
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