All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday said that today Himachal was in a miserable condition and on the verge of bankruptcy because of the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government.
“No one had ever thought Himachal, where great people like Virbhadra Singh had ruled, there would be CM remote controlled by Delhi,” said Surjewala addressing an election rally at Dharamshala.
Taking a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Surjewala said that “Jumlebazon Ka Sardar” had once come to Himachal with his fake promises.
“Remember, at his Sujanpur rally on February 18, 2014, he had promised to bring back the alleged ₹80 lakh crore black money deposit ₹15 lakh each in the bank accounts of people,” the Congress leader said.
“Ask him, where are that ₹80 Cr and ₹15 lakh,” he added.
Hitting out at the BJP governments, at the centre and state, over inflation, Surjewala said BJP raised a hue and cry when the cooking gas cylinder price was ₹410, and its price has now crossed ₹1,200.
“Petrol which was at ₹71 per litre, now costs ₹98 in Himachal, diesel reached ₹84 from ₹65, and edible oil is up from ₹85 to ₹190,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Petrol which was at ₹71 per litre, now costs ₹98 in Himachal, diesel reached ₹84 from ₹65, and edible oil is up from ₹85 to ₹190,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said today farmers and apple growers of Himachal were not getting a reasonable price for their produce because Modi’s friend (Gautam) Adani had a monopoly in the market.
Surjewala also slammed the BJP government for imposing GST on apple packaging material and daily need items.
Raking up the police constable recruitment scam, the Congress leader said that the youth of the state were jobless because the BJP government sold jobs in police and Himachal Pradesh University.
Praising the Congress’ Dharamshala candidate Sudhir Sharma, Surjwala said he was among those leaders who always stand by the people.
“When there was a cloudburst here, those in power turned a blind eye to the problems of the public. At that time, it was Sharma who worked to provide relief to the people,” he said.