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Jai Ram Thakur says Congress erased from country: ‘Vidai ki shehnai’ sounded
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the Congress party is left with nothing, and the BJP should not be blamed for that.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday took a swipe at the Congress, saying the grand old party's reign in the country is finished. “Everything has its run, and so did they (Congress). But not anymore. They are finished in the country,” he said during an address in Jalog in Shimla.
Thakur said that the future of the Congress has been erased. Referring to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections which his party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept by securing over 250 seats, the chief minister added that the Congress could manage to bag only two.
Thakur further stated that the “national leaders” of the Congress party “are on bail”. Taking an apparent dig at Rahul Gandhi by mentioning a “young” Congress leader, Thakur said that in few days that person will come to Himachal Pradesh and will talk about “democracy”.
“We don't have any problem with him, his family or even his party. When the party is left with nothing, don't put the blame on us,” Thakur said at the gathering.
He said that the grand old party's “vidai ki shehnai (trumpet for their departure)” has been set off in the entire country. “Tell them ‘babul ki duaein leti jaa, jaa sukhi sansar bana’,” Thakur added amid cheers and claps.
Thakur's statements come in the backdrop of the exodus of several Congress leaders from the party, the latest being Hardik Patel and Sunil Jakhar.
Himachal Pradesh is slated to go into polls at the end of this year along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. After the BJP replaced chief ministers in prominent states including Gujarat, Tripura and Karnataka, there were speculations whether Thakur would be able to evade this trend. However, in April this year, BJP national president JP Nadda put all rumours to rest, asserting that Thakur will continue to remain the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and the forthcoming assembly polls will be fought under his leadership.
“Jai Ram Thakur is doing good work and he will continue with it in future. He will not be replaced and the BJP will contest the assembly elections under his leadership,” Nadda had told reporters during his visit to the state.
The saffron camp's chief's statement was in response to Delhi deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia's claim that the BJP was contemplating replacing Thakur with Union minister Anurag Thakur.
