Shimla, Aug. 11 -- A war of words erupted between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over delay in electing the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Shimla Zila Parishad on Monday.

While the Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur stepped up the criticism of the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government over its "failure" to elect the key office-bearers, Sukhu has said that Thakur must first explain why he took the zila parishad members to Panchkula when the election date had already been fixed.

The results of the elections for panchayati raj institutions in the state were declared on May 31. However, even after 70 days, the elections for the zila parishad chairperson and vice-chairperson in Shimla dist...