Kick-starting the Congress election campaign for poll bound Himachal Pradesh, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will lead the party in the elections and urged people of the State to make the veteran leader Chief Minister of the State for the seventh time.
Himachal Congress had organised Gandhi's rally to counter the impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rally at Bilaspur on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of AIIMS where Modi had made sarcastic remarks on Virbhadra Singh and Congress Party alleging that the entire party was “on bail”.
Addressing a well attended public meeting at Paddal Ground in Mandi, Gandhi highlighted the achievements of the State in development and made a glaring comparison between Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and showered praises on the Chief Minister for providing employment to around 70,000 youth in Government sector besides strengthening health and educational institutions in the state.
‘Vijay Se Vikas’ rally kickstarted the poll campaign in the State and also a clarion call was given by Gandhi that all have to stand united together to accomplish the goal of formation of Congress Government in the State with Singh as the Chief Minister.
Coming down on the policies of the Union Government, the Congress Vice President blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said that the fall in GDP by 2 per cent speaks in volumes about mismanagement of the economic reforms.
He also attacked NDA Government for imposing Goods and Service Tax (GST) on people of the country creating trouble for all sections of the society. He said services became more expensive and the decision was taken into haste ignoring small and marginal traders.
"Instead of one tax throughout the Country, the NDA has imposed five different type of taxes completely derailing the economy with imposition of 28 per cent tax from the very onset. This was the biggest blow on the Indian economy," he said in his hard hitting speech.
Gandhi also criticised the Union Government on demonetisation of currency, adding that it was imposed on the people which caught them unaware.
Striking the chord with the crowd, Gandhi wished that either we would have been without the roof or there should have been cover for people who were sitting in the scorching heat just to listen him.
Coming to comparative figures of development of the Prime Minister’s home State and the Congress ruled Himachal Pradesh, the Congress vice-president said that Himachal state had given unemployment allowance of Rs 1,000 to the unemployed whereas it was not being given in Gujarat. Congress led Himachal Government opened or upgraded as many as 15,000 schools whereas the Gujarat Government closed 13,000 schools during last five years.
He said Himachal Government opened four medical colleges, 57 degree colleges as opposite to Gujarat where just 25 degree colleges have been opened and no medical college during last five years.
Criticising the Gujarat model of development which he termed as befooling the people of Gujarat in name of development, he said that the financial assistance for housing for different categories was Rs 1.30 lakh to poor in Himachal whereas in Gujarat it was merely Rs 70,000.
Social security pension was Rs 700 per month in Himachal and mere Rs 450 in Gujrat.
Gandhi said that the NDA played with the sentiments of youth in name of employment as it promised to provide two crore jobs per year to them, whereas the Modi Government totally failed providing employment as promised.
He also said that the Modi Government failed to protect the interest of farmers as hundreds of farmers were committing suicide in the country. loan waiver policies of the Union Government also made mockery of farmers in the name of waiving off loans.
Addressing the rally, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh thanked the people of the State and said he shared strong bonding with them.
“People were family members to me and I don't have servant-master relation with them," he said, adding, "it was due to the guidance of the people and their suggestions that Himachal has traversed a long distance from scratch to become as the most developed State in the country”.
Crediting the development of this hill State to the Gandhi family, right from Jawahar lal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi, the chief minister said that 95 per cent of the educational institutions were opened during the successive Congress regimes in the state.
"During last five years we have opened or upgraded around 230 health institutions in the State," he said, adding that the Government provided land for AIIMS as demanded by the Union Health Ministry, but the BJP State leaders claimed that Union Government sanctioned AIIMS and gave funds for it.
“I want to make it clear that it was the responsibility of the Central Government to provide State share for undertaking development and the funds provided for AIIMS was not from anyone's personal pocket, it was the funds from Bharat Sarkar from the States share which the State Government deserve and have full right to ask for", said the Chief Minister.
He said the Central Government can boast of funds provided to Union territories which were under the direct control of the Union Government but it can't claim the share of States as its own. "No matter which ever Government was at the helm of affairs in the centre, it becomes the moral duty of the Union Government to release the funds earmarked for the States," he added.
Singh said, "Though I respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but he can't impose such policies on people of the Country which were autocratic in nature." The Chief Minister also termed the steps of demonetisation and GST
as detrimental to Indian economy.
listing development in the State, Singh said that there were hardly 288 kilometres of road when the State was formed and the total road length stands 37,000 kilometres today.
The State achieved 100 per cent electrification, every village has drinking water facilities, he said adding that there were 137 degree colleges in the State and 57 were opened in this tenure of my Government.
Industries Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri said that Union Government had failed in keeping all poll promises that were made three years ago to the people of the Country.
AICC general secretary in charge of the State, Sushil Kumar Shinde, MP Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, Secretary AICC Ranjeeta Ranjan, HPCC President Sukhwinder Sukhu and senior Congress leader Viplove Thakur also spoke on the occasion.