DW BUREAU / Shimla

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday that the state government is exploring the possibility of conducting the Students Central Association (SCA) elections and discussions are being held on it with Himachal Pradesh University authorities.

Addressing mediapersons after attending the alumni meet at the university, Sukhu, who is a former student of the varsity, said the SCA elections should be held but since they were stopped due to violent clashes, any decision on it would only made after discussions.

SCA elections were discontinued in the university in 2014 after violent clashes on campus between students affiliated with ABVP and SFI.

Earlier, the chief minister launched a two-day 'Maitree' programme at the HPU alumni meet and inaugurated the International Chapter of 'Maitree'. Sukhu also recalled his days at the university which he said laid the foundation of his political career. The chief minister also said the state government wanted to make Himachal Pradesh economically stable and corruption-free. "The government was working to make Himachal a self-reliant state and numerous steps were being taken to improve the quality of education in all the government-run institutions," he said.

"When we came to power the economic condition of the state was in a complete mess because of the huge debt burden inherited from the previous government and we had to make some tough decisions to bring back the derailed economy on track by generating income from the existing resources. We have set a target to make Himachal Pradesh the most prosperous state by 2032," he said.

Speaking on the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Aashray scheme, he said that 4,000 orphan children have been adopted as 'children of the state' and the entire responsibility of their education has been taken by the state government.

"A Center of Excellence would be constructed in Tikri of Kandaghat area in Solan district to provide education to about 300 specially-abled persons," he said. The chief minister also announced that Rs 2 crores would be provided to the alumni association for the construction of their building. Sukhu also released three books - 'Juni' by senior journalist Sanjeev Sharma, 'Main Aur Meri HP University' and 'Yadein Buransh Ki'. He also gave away free lifetime membership certificates of the HPU alumni association to four specially-abled students.
(editor@dailyworld.in)