Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday, 13 July 2026, accusing both the previous state BJP government and the central BJP administration of systematically dismantling welfare programmes — and warning that any move to scrap the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) would cost the party dearly at the ballot box.

Context

In a Hindi-language post on X, CM Sukhu alleged that the former BJP state government's flagship health insurance programme, Himcare, was riddled with fraud. He claimed that under the scheme — ostensibly meant to provide treatment to ordinary citizens — hospitals had billed for uterus operations performed on men, calling it 'is yojana ka sabse bada ghotala' ('the biggest scam of this scheme'), since uterus surgeries are by definition applicable only to women. The charge, if substantiated, would point to large-scale billing irregularities under the health cover programme.

Sukhu then widened his attack to the central government, alleging that MGNREGA — the rural employment guarantee law in force since 2005 — had been deliberately weakened, and that the Agniveer Yojana, introduced by the Union government in June 2022, had thrown the futures of 'lakhs of youth' into uncertainty by replacing permanent defence recruitment with short-term contracts. He also alleged that an RDG benefit in place since 1952 had been discontinued, though this claim could not be independently verified.

Policy Backdrop

Himcare was launched during the BJP's 2017–2022 term in Himachal Pradesh as a state-level health cover scheme, supplementing the central Ayushman Bharat programme. The Congress government that came to power in December 2022 under Sukhu has since subjected the scheme's implementation to scrutiny, though formal audit findings in the public domain remain limited.

The Agniveer scheme has been a persistent flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP at both national and state levels since its announcement. Congress-ruled states, including Himachal Pradesh, have argued that the scheme denies defence aspirants the job security and pension benefits that regular recruitment provided. Separately, the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme — the defined-benefit pension system that was replaced by the contributory National Pension System after 2004 — has become a key electoral promise for Congress governments across states.

Stakeholders and Impact

State government employees are the primary constituency for the OPS debate; the Sukhu government restored the scheme for Himachal employees after taking office, making any BJP threat to reverse it a direct political vulnerability for the opposition. Rural workers dependent on MGNREGA wages and defence aspirants from the hill state — where army recruitment has historically been high — are the other groups directly implicated in Sukhu's critique.

Patients who enrolled under Himcare for subsidised treatment also have a stake in how the scheme's alleged irregularities are investigated and resolved. Any formal probe could affect the credibility of state health insurance programmes more broadly.

What's Next

Sukhu's post closes with a direct challenge to the Himachal BJP leadership: 'Kya BJP ke log khwab mein hain?' ('Are BJP leaders living in a dream?'), questioning whether the party believes it can return to power after, in his framing, shutting down scheme after scheme. He declared: 'This time the people of Himachal will write new history.'

With the Himachal Pradesh assembly election due in 2027, the BJP's stated position on OPS and the Congress's audit of Himcare are expected to become central campaign issues. The trajectory of central funding for MGNREGA and the rollout of Agniveer recruitment in the state will also be closely watched as both parties sharpen their welfare narratives ahead of polling.