Talking to media persons here today, the Congress MLA from Nagrota constituency under which the Medical College comes, G.S. Bali said that the Congress party was very much concerned about the future of the students, who have been resorting to protests of late, and fully supported their demand for recognition of the college by the Medical Council of India.

`` The state government should immediately file a review petition in the Supreme Court and seek some more time to improve the situation and update facilities at the Tanda Medical College to save careers of the students,'' he said. Bali alleged that the students were suffering primarily because of the malafide intentions of the BJP which, he added, wanted to sabotage the project launched by the Congress for the benefit of people of lower merged area''.

Bali said the former chief minister Virbhadra Singh had inaugurated the college last year in public interest with no political angle attached to it. ``It was for the BJP to have continued the project with the same zeal and get the due work done at the complex, keeping in view the future of the students''. ``The BJP leadership, however, tried to victimize the college students only to settle the political scores. Had the Dhumal government been concerned about the young students and the benefit to the lower merged areas, it would have done something to improve the things '', the Congress leader said.

The Congress MLA, who is also a joint secretary in the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, came down heavily on the Dhumal leadership for ignoring Kangra at the cost of Hamirpur, ``The previous Congress had given Dharamsala a status next to the state capital Shimla. And Virbhadra used to stay here for 15 days for the people of the area, '' he said. He alleged that Kangra was being ``politically victimised'' by the present government and it had much to do with the deep-rooted Dhumal-Shanta rift in Himachal.

Bali alleged said that the Dhumal government could not victimise the people of this area for long because of his differences with Shanta Kumar. ``The people would ultimately turn the tables on his government as they are the ones who brought the BJP to power,'' he commented.

He alleged that the ``so called Apollo hospital project for Palampur was nothing more than a mirage''. Yet if the Bharatiya Janata Party government made it see the light of the day, the Congress would welcome it, he added.