A day after BJP MP Kangana Raut publicly pulled up officials over the slow implementation of central government schemes and MPLADS-funded projects in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, the issue has turned into a political confrontation between the actor-turned-politician and Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh.
The latest development came as local authorities began analysing the status of development projects and reviewing the utilisation of funds following Kangana’s sharp remarks at the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting.
Kangana, who chairs the DISHA committee for the Mandi parliamentary constituency, had questioned the performance of officials and expressed anger over projects remaining pending despite funds being sanctioned. She alleged that departments were using land acquisition, permissions and NOCs as reasons to delay development works.
She went a step further, directing officials to recover funds where projects had not been started and calling for penalties and blacklisting of those who allegedly obtained government money through fraudulent means.
The BJP MP also accused the Himachal Pradesh government of delaying the implementation of central schemes, turning what was otherwise an administrative review into a political flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress government.
A day later, the focus shifted from Kangana’s remarks to the ground-level status of the projects, with authorities examining the projects and their implementation.
But the Congress has pushed back strongly.
Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister and former Congress candidate from Mandi Vikramaditya Singh criticised Kangana’s approach and questioned her language while addressing the issue of officials.
Speaking to NDTV, Vikramaditya said Kangana’s “language style is known to the entire country” and argued that it was unfair to judge all government officials by the same yardstick.
He acknowledged that there could be delays in implementing schemes or taking benefits to people and said such problems needed to be corrected. However, he stressed that this did not mean every government officer was performing poorly.
The exchange is significant because Kangana and Vikramaditya have been political rivals in Mandi. Their confrontation now appears to be moving beyond electoral politics and into the broader question of who is responsible for delays in development works – the elected representatives demanding faster execution or the state administration responsible for implementing the projects.
There is also an important distinction in the official figures.
According to the DISHA meeting data, Rs 5.12 crore has been sanctioned for 237 development works in Mandi district. Of this, Rs 3.22 crore has already been spent. Moreover, 68 of the 74 completed projects across the Mandi parliamentary constituency are located in Mandi district.
This suggests that while there are pending projects requiring scrutiny, the picture is not one of complete non-utilisation of funds.
The political argument, therefore, is increasingly centred on the pace, quality and accountability of implementation rather than simply on whether funds have been spent.
Another ideological fault line has emerged between Kangana and Vikramaditya over RSS-run schools.
Kangana has advocated introducing similar educational initiatives in Himachal Pradesh if the BJP returns to power, arguing that RSS-linked educational initiatives can provide opportunities to children in rural and remote areas.
Vikramaditya opposed turning schools and educational institutions into political battlegrounds. He said several RSS-run institutions promote an ideology that, in his view, goes beyond constitutional values, and maintained that governments should work collectively on education rather than politicise institutions.
The two exchanges underline a wider political battle in Himachal Pradesh: Kangana is seeking to project herself as a watchdog for central funds and development in her parliamentary constituency, while the Congress government is resisting what it sees as sweeping criticism of the state machinery.
