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Journalism of Courage
In his final push before Himachal Pradesh votes to elect a new government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday accused the Congress of “betraying” the people of the hill state by obstructing its development and pitched the BJP as “pro-development” and stressed that people will get “double benefits” if his party is re-elected to power.
Modi, who addressed rallies at Sujanpur in Hamirpur district and at Chambi in Kangra district, said as someone aware of issues and people in the state, he will be able to work much more for Himachal if people “anukul” (favourable) to him are in power here. He urged the people to change the “rivaaz” of alternately voting in the BJP and the Congress saying it has hurt the state.
Modi said due to this “rivaaz”, Congress made people of hill state “bereft of basic amenities”.
“Aapki chinta inko paanch varshon tak nahi aayi kyonki inko bharosa tha Himachal to paanch saal ke baad kursi de deta hai…logon ki parvaah karne ki zaroorat kya hai (They [Congress] did not care for you for five years thinking that there will be change of government),” said Modi, adding that time has come to “send Congress packing with bag and baggage”.
Noting that the Congress is left with power in only two states, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Modi said the party is only for internal feuds and failed in its duty as the opposition party in the state.
“If the Congress cannot discharge its role in the opposition, what will it do if it comes to power,” he asked.
With the state sending a relatively large number of people to defence forces, Modi in Sujanpur, listed the initiatives taken by his government to strengthen the Indian Army, including indigenous production of bullet proof jackets, winter shoes for soldiers and manufacturing of arms and ammunition indigenously. “Our government implemented “one-rank-one-pension” while the Congress kept it pending for decades,” he said, while accusing the Congress of “insulting” the Army chief, likening soldiers to goons and raising questions on surgical strikes targeting terror camps in Pakistan.
Referring to the recent assembly bypoll results in which the BJP won four of seven seats and the Congress none, Modi said that “lotus has bloomed in areas where BJP was considered weak and Congress lost where it was considered to have mass base”.
“It is due to the BJP’s development works and pro-poor measures that it is re-elected to power in different states,” the PM said.
He said, when the Congress was in power in the state, only 10 houses under the Centre’s housing scheme for the poor were constructed here between 2014-17 while around 10,000 of them were built after the BJP took charge. During its reign at the Centre, the Congress made it mandatory for the small state of Himachal to shell out 40 per cent of expenses for the implementation of central government schemes, Modi said, adding that his dispensation reduced the share to 10 per cent.
Stating that these were his last rallies in the hill state before the November 12 polls, Modi, who has been the face of BJP campaign, urged the masses to “ensure that very vote at every booth went to lotus”.
“This time, the people of Himachal [Pradesh] are contesting election on their own and have decided to form [CM] Jairam Thakur government again. It is in the blood of the Himachal people to create new history. That is why people of Himachal will bring BJP to power again. It is a straight calculation. A BJP government in Himachal can benefit from Delhi (the central government). It will bring double benefits,” he said.
