NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday termed the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls a battle between the "enemy of development" Congress and the "pro-development" BJP and emphasised that people will get "double benefits" if his party is re-elected as he will be able to work more for them.
In a scathing attack on the main Opposition party, the Congress, Mr Modi linked it with "instability, corruption and scam".
Addressing his last of the four public meetings in Himachal Pradesh’s Sujanpur in Hamirpur district, Mr Modi accused the Congress of "betraying" the people of the state and obstructing its development when it was in power till 2017. More so after he assumed the office of Prime Minister in 2014.
He claimed that if the Congress comes to power in the state, it will not allow his government to work. Mr Modi said that he can do much more for Himachal if people "anukul" (favourable) to him are in power in the state. He asked the voters to break the convention of voting out incumbent governments to ensure the state's development.
"Congress by nature is an enemy of development. It is the BJP that can take Himachal to new heights of development. Therefore, it is necessary for the BJP government to retain power. It is a straight calculation. A BJP government should be formed in Himachal so that it can benefit from Delhi (the Central government). It will bring double benefits," the Prime Minister said at a rally in Sujanpur in Hamirpur district.
Modi talked about his familiarity with Himachal Pradesh, a highlight of all his addresses at rallies after the Assembly poll announcement, and said that as someone aware of issues and people here, he will be able to work for the state while being in Delhi.
The Prime Minister listed several measures for state progress after the BJP government under chief minister Jai Ram Thakur was elected in 2017.
In his first rally of the day at Chambi in Kangra district, which has the largest number of Assembly seats in the state, the Prime Minister linked the Congress with instability, corruption and scams. He asserted that Himachal Pradesh needs a stable and strong "double engine" government.
He said that the Congress failed in its duty as the Opposition party in the state. "If the Congress cannot discharge its role in the Opposition, what will it do if it comes to power?" asked the Prime Minister and added that people have decided to send them packing again.
With the state sending a relatively large number of people to the defence forces, the Prime Minister asserted that the security of the country and the defence personnel is of paramount importance to the BJP.
Modi also accused the Congress of "insulting" the Army Chief, likening soldiers to goons and raising questions on surgical strikes targeting terror camps in Pakistan. The Prime Minister noted that his government implemented "one-rank, one-pension" while the Congress kept it pending for decades.
Talking about the recent Assembly byelection results, in which the BJP won four of seven seats and the Congress none, he asserted that while his party is being accepted in the states where it was not traditionally strong, the Congress is withering away in places once considered its bastions.
"It is due to the BJP's development works and pro-poor measures that it is re-elected to power in different states, whereas people are so angery with the Congress that it has not returned to power in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, for decades," Mr Modi said.
Asserting that the Congress is an obstruction to development and is rooted in family rule, the Prime Minister alleged that its leaders practised corruption and neglected Himachal Pradesh's development but still believe that they would come back to power again in five years.
"This alternating of power between two parties has damaged the state. You should not let the Congress enter (the government) again," he said.
The Prime Minister listed several projects, including those of building highways and allotment of Central educational institutions to the state. He made special mention of schemes for free grains, free cooking gas connections and housing for the poor with a focus on women's ownership to highlight his emphasis on easing women's lives.
Modi asserted that the people of the state have decided to script a new history and change the precedence of voting out the state government in Assembly polls by re-electing the BJP to power. He said that he can sense their mood and resolve after touring the state.
Pointing out that the Congress is left with power only in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Mr Modi asked people if they have ever heard of them making news for development.
"It is the reports of the internal feuds of the Congress that come out from there. The BJP is identified by people with good governance and pro-poor policies and that is why it is elected to power repeatedly," he said, referring to his party's wins in several states where it was in power.
