Slamming BJP for engaging in politics meant to milk the martyrdom of the brave soldiers of the country, the state Congress president Pritam Singh said that an environment is being created in the country where those who are not supporting BJP are being labelled as anti -national.
Addressing the media persons at the state party office here on Tuesday, the PCC chief said that Congress has a rich legacy of sacrifices for the country and it does not need a certificate from BJP. “Congress led the freedom struggle of the country while RSS was with the British,” he said. He further said that a few could understand the meaning of sacrifice better than the Congress president Rahul Gandhi who had seen two Prime Ministers of the country who were members of his family, laying down their lives on the altar of the nation. “Similarly, we lost one CM in a terrorist attack and entire top leadership of the party in Chhattisgarh in a Naxalite attack. BJP has no such sacrifice to show,’’ he said.
Launching an attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said that he is claiming on one hand to have eliminated corruption and, on the other, he is backing out from an investigation on Rafale aircraft deal. He said that the recent statement of the solicitor General in the Supreme Court that some of the files of the Rafale deal have been stolen shows that the country is not in safe hands as the government is not able to safeguard an important file. Continuing his diatribe on the saffron camp, Pritam Singh said that the character of BJP is such that it has never contested an election on the plank of development.
Speaking of the the upcoming visit of the Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Singh said that the Congress workers are waiting for his arrival with great enthusiasm. “His rally at Parade Ground in Dehradun would be a historic one in terms of the people’s turnout,” he said. He further said that the people of the Uttarakhand were disillusioned over the glaring failure of the much-hyped double engine government in which they had previously reposed a great deal of confidence.
Singh added that promises like appointment of Lokayukt within 100 days, load waiver to the farmers and providing employment to the unemployed youths have vanished into the thin air. “ The people of the state are thus determined to teach BJP a lesson in the upcoming polls,” he said. Tearing into the BJP on the issue of liquor, he said that the state government has drowned the state in liquor. “Spurious liquor has claimed 150 lives in Haridwar district last month and recently in Saklana of Tehri district, two people died on consuming illicit liquor,’’ he said.