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Implemented three major poll guarantees despite fund crunch: Sukhu
Congress workers and leaders from across the state arrived a the police ground. Along with the chief minister, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri, state Congress in-charge Rajiv Shukla, co-in-charge Tejindra Bittu, president Pratibha Singh, all cabinet ministers, MLAs and officials of the government attended the event
To mark its one year in office, the Congress government in Himachal organised mega-celebrations at Dharamshala in the politically significant Kangra district. During the function, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that his government had implemented three of its major poll guarantees, introducing English in the government schools and ₹680 crore Rajiv Gandhi start-up scheme have been implemented, despite the financial challenges.
Notably, All India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not attend the rally. The party had earlier announced that she would be part of the celebrations.
Congress workers and leaders from across the state arrived a the police ground. Along with the chief minister, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri, state Congress in-charge Rajiv Shukla, co-in-charge Tejindra Bittu, president Pratibha Singh, all cabinet ministers, MLAs and officials of the government attended the event.
The chief minister said that from January 2024, the state government would purchase cow dung from farmers at ₹2 per kg, in line with their promise before the assembly elections. He highlighted that the state government had already restored the old pension scheme.
The Himachal Milk Federation would purchase milk from milk producers of the state at ₹37 per litre, as against the current ₹31, he said.
He added that all women of Lahaul and Spiti will get financial aid of ₹1500 per month, according to the party’s election promise. Women getting ₹1,150 as social security pension would get ₹1,500 instead, he said.
Sukhu said that during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, 2.27 lakh candidates had participated in recruitment examination in 2020 and the its result would be declared soon.
The chief minister said that government was working to make Himachal self-reliant by 2027, and the richest state of the country in the coming ten years.
The Congress leader said that after 40 years, there has been a change in Himachal and he wants to run the government by moving away from the traditional way.
The government has collected additional revenue of ₹500 crore from the auction of liquor vends, he said, adding that changes were being made in the tendering process. Taking a dig at his predecessor, Sukhu said the Jai Ram Thakur government took loans of around ₹14,000 crore in 2022-23 and the Congress government inherited ₹75,000 crore debt burden
Deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri said fulfilling the guarantees was the duty of the government. He asked the employees of the state not to forget the atrocities of the Bharatiya Janata Party and support Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Himachal assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said that a year was very short to assess the functioning of any government.
