Addressing a big BJP rally after filing of the nomination papers of Ram Swarup Sharma, BJP candidate from Mandi Parliamentary constituency on Thursday, former Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal, lamented that the Congress-led UPA Government was the darkest era of corruption and scams in the history of democratic India which brought down the country in the estimation of community of nations across the world.
He referred to Bofors scam of 1980, Harshad Mehta scam, 2G spectrum scam, Common Wealth Games scam, Hawala scam etc. saying the accumulated amount of loot in these scams had been estimated at `12 lakh crores, which not only rocked the country, but also tarnished its image abroad.
Dhumal said the fallout of the loot of the national wealth was the unprecedented increase in the prices of essential commodities, unemployment, spread of corruption to the grass roots level of services and deteriorating law and order situation. He bemoaned that he biggest increase in the history of independent India was recorded in the prices of lPG, petrol and diesel which not only got on the nerves of the consumers , but also increased the prices all other commodities of daily use.
The former Chief Minster charged that the Virbhadra Singh Government came to power last year by making false promises in its manifesto. He had promised to give `1,500 to `2,000 unemployment allowance to the educated youths in the State, he did nothing. He keeps mum over it. He ditched and fooled the youths. Now the youth force of the State is up in arms against the Congress and would weed it out from the political soil of the State.
Dhumal called upon the people of Himachal Pradesh to root out Congress on the day of polling on May 7 and strengthen the hands of Narendra Modi who would certainly accomplish the development started by Vajpayee. Ram Swarup Sharma, BJP candidate from Mandi surprised the big crowd by his hour-long eloquent speech exhibiting his fighting spirit and his firm determination to defeat Congress candidate Rani Pratibha Singh.
He exhorted people to break the shackles of slavery and bid farewell to both Raja and Rani by casting their votes to BJP. All the four seats of Himachal must go to BJP to strengthen the hands of Modi who alone could lift the hilly State out of the mire of poverty and backwardness, he asserted.