Congress leader Rajesh Sharma on Saturday sought to know why the Central University of Himachal Pradesh was operating from a temporary campus despite being allotted land by the state government.

He said the BJP-ruled state government should clarify its stand on the matter. If the BJP government fails to clear the air on the matter, people will give it a befitting reply in the Dharamsala municipal polls on April 7, Sharma said in a statement.

The Congress leader said the BJP should explain why it could not ensure a permanent campus for the university despite ruling the state for three years. He added that activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's youth wing, have been protesting for the past seven weeks over the absence of a permanent campus of the varsity. "Why is the varsity still running from the building of other departments in Dharamshala? The BJP should answer why its own outfit ABVP is agitating against them. Why has the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor, registrar and controller of examinations not been done in the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) for the past one year?" Sharma said.

The Central University of Himachal Pradesh has been awaiting a permanent campus for the past 12 years. The university is currently operating from a temporary campus, pending the construction of two permanent campuses at Dehra and Dharamsala in Kangra district. The university was founded in 2009 under the Central Universities Act enacted by the parliament.