BJP leader and former Himachal chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Monday lashed out at the Congress led UPA Government for bringing the country on the brink of bankruptcy by wrong economic policies and widespread corruption.
Talking to The Pioneer, he said Congress had ruled the country for a long time taking the benefit of “short pubic memory” and befooled the people particularly the illiterate and the poor by its tempting but hollow slogans during the election time. "Congress, in fact, wanted poverty to stay because people would cast vote to Congress as long as they are poor and illiterate," he said.
Dhumal said Congress won some elections on the bogey of “Congress lao Garibi Hatao” (Bring Congress to power to alleviate poverty), but it did just the reverse on coming to power. The process of poor getting poorer went on unabated during the successive Congress regimes.
The former Himachal CM said when Assembly elections were scheduled in five States, Congress hatched another conspiracy against the poor by issuing an ordinance of Right to Food to beguile the innocent poor.
Describing Right to Food Ordinance as "most humiliating and shameful", he recalled that after its dismal failure to provide work and employment for the poor, Congress Government had played a cruel joke with the poor by rendering them “beggars” and offering them a kind of alms in the shape of virtually free ration by challenging self-respect of the poor. Productive ventures like small and cottage industries were required for the poor classes and not free ration, he said.
Dhumal said Right to Food Ordinance had brought India down in the eyes of community of nations across the world who had been given a false impression that India was poised to become an economic power. "Now a message had been sent that as many as 82 crore persons in India were starving and Government had to issue an ordinance to feed the beggars".
He said, "The fact was that the rupee was being devalued continuously shattering the economy because those in power were virtually looting the country and deposing the booty in banks abroad. Despite strictures by the apex court nothing concrete has been done to bring back the black money. The country has been rocked by mega scams and the Sonia — Manmohan duo was turning a deaf ear to the public outcry".
The leader of Opposition in Himachal said, “I personally favour that law should be enacted to declare illegal all sops which are showered near elections on States for getting votes. During the election of the President, the UPA Government bribed a state for votes and again this week some projects were announced in UP to ensure the success of Rahul and Sonia” in the
coming elections”.
Asked about the humiliating defeat of BJP in the by-election of Mandi Parliamentary constituency, he said Congress opened the flood-gates of money power and indulged in a spree of canards and character assassination. He, however, cautioned the ruling party that the public memory may be short, but the public had an “ex-ray eye”.
Dhumal said during the BJP rule Himachal Pradesh progressed by leaps and bounds and got several awards by reputed national and international agencies. On the contrary the Congress Government has done virtually nothing ever since it had come to power except large scale transfers burdening the state exchequer with avoidable expenditure of crores of rupees of the state which was not economically viable.
He lamented that for the first time the employees of the State have been divided. Some had been branded as pro-BJP without any rhyme or reasons.
All the district administrations had been loaded with persons from a particular belt which was not healthy for the emotional integration, he alleged.
Dhumal surmised that the Congress led UPA Government at the center would be ousted in 2014 general elections and simultaneously HP Government would also fall like a house of cards.