Attacking BJP for its expensive campaign blitzkrieg, Union Minister and Congress in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, Rajiv Shukla on Sunday said that unlike BJP which is spending Rs 10,000 crore on its publicity campaign, Congress does not have so much money.
“They kept on shouting all these years that there is corruption everywhere and when the time came, money was found coming out from their side,” said Shukla commenting on the aggressive media campaign launched by the BJP.
On the question that Congress lagged behind in media campaign, Shukla said that Congress does not have so much money to spend on publicity, but the party is spending very judiciously and economically on the election campaign. Shukla, who was on his maiden visit to the State after being appointed as general secretary and State in-charge of Congress in Himachal Pradesh, said, “In Himachal Pradesh, he found no Modi wave.”
“It is surprising but I found no Modi wave in Himachal Pradesh or not even in Uttarakhand especially in rural areas,” said Shukla.He added that though BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi through his campaign has built some hype in northern Indian States, the hype is limited largely to urban areas.
On Narendra Modi’s marriage controversy, Shukla said that Congress does not believe in personal attacks on any political opponent and the controversy was sparked by Narendra Modi himself.
Shukla also gave a word of caution to the leaders who were making hate and sexist speeches saying that leaders should restrain themselves from making such speeches and law enforcement agencies should keep a check on it.
Shukla, who is also the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) vice-president, defended politicians holding posts in sports bodies. “Politicians do not come from other planet and they are very much part of the society. What matters most is that if politicians occupy a post of sports body then he should contribute to the sports and it should not be occupied just for the sake of status symbol,” he added.