Bring BJP back to power in Himachal, appeals PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the Congress for ignoring Himachal Pradesh as it sends only "four MPs" to the Lok Sabha. Speaking at two rallies in the poll-bound state, he accused the Opposition party of "making false promises and giving false guarantees."

The PM urged the people to start a new tradition by voting the BJP back into power to ensure stability and progress. He said, "If you want to seek accountability and answers from the government, you should give it another chance. Together, we will take Himachal forward, start a new 'riwaaz' (custom), and bring the BJP back to power."

Modi, who sought votes for the "double engine ki sarkar", launched a scathing attack on the Congress and alleged that it never even opened its manifesto while the BJP is known for toiling day and night to fulfil what it says and referred to the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and building Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Ahead of his visit to the poll-bound state, the PM reached the Radha Soami Satsang at Beas in Amritsar and met Dera head Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon. Himachal Pradesh has a large number of Dera followers.

Addressing his first rally at Sundernagar in Mandi district, the home constituency of Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, who also addressed the gathering, Modi reminded the crowd that he had promised the people of Mandi that he would address the first election rally from Mandi itself.

Attacking the Congress for not prioritising the state's development, the PM said, "Being a small state, the Congress did not consider it of significance politically with just 3 to 4 LS MPs. Because of their mindset, Congress never gave priority to Himachal's development and the state fell behind."

Listing out the failures of the previous Congress, he cited the promise of "Garibi Hatao" and said the Congress kept raising the slogan for 50 years but nothing happened. He accused the Congress of not fulfilling even a single promise they had made in the 2012 election manifesto and not implementing the "one rank, one pension" scheme.

"Making false promises, giving false guarantees has been an old trick of Congress," said the PM while comparing it with the BJP, which he claimed fulfilled its poll promises of abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Seeking votes for the "double engine" BJP government, Mr Modi said, between 2014 and 2017 only 15 houses were completed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban, while work started on 10,000 houses as soon as the BJP government came to power in the hill state. Out of these, more than 8,000 houses have  been completed.

Modi noted how Himachal Pradesh became the first state in the country to achieve the target of 100 per cent Covid vaccination. He said because of the "double engine sarkar" the state has 9-lakh tap water connections, 4-lakh people got free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the Atal Tunnel was constructed.

In Solan, Modi recalled his stays in Solan and Shimla and said Himachal has always been on his mind. Batting for a stable government, Modi cited examples of BJP-ruled Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur, where the pace of development has been on the upswing. He said the area from Solan to Shimla is being developed as an educational and medical hub.

Addressing a rally in Solan, Mr Modi slammed the Congress as a "guarantee of corruption and nepotism" and targeted the AAP as "most corrupt" in the guise of 'kattar imaandaar' as he sought people's votes for stability and development under a BJP government in the state.

He spoke at length about his long association with the hill state and exhorted people to support "lotus" (BJP's election symbol), saying their votes for it will be their "blessings" to him and that they should keep in mind not the candidates but "kamal ka phool".

PM Modi also paid tribute to Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of independent India, who voted more than 30 times in his life. The centenarian passed away in the early hours of Saturday in his native village of Kalpa.