BJP stole UPA's credit: PM Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the BJP government in the state was falsely projecting most of the Centre's schemes as its own by changing their names to extract political mileage. Ravinder Vasudeva and Rajesh Sharma report.

Claiming that the UPA government at the Centre played a major role in the development of Himachal Pradesh in the past eight years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said the BJP government in the state was falsely projecting most of the Centre's schemes as its own by changing their names to extract political mileage.

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Addressing a Congress rally here ahead of the November 4 polls, Singh cited the example of the much-publicised ambulance service, which is a central scheme run by the state government under the name of Atal Swasthya Sewa.

"The Central government has provided 152 ambulances for this service in Himachal by giving full financial assistance. Likewise, the state government was also running the Centre's healthcare schemes with other names," he said. "It's like the work is done by somebody and the credit is taken by someone else," he said.

The Prime Minister also charged the state government with failure to extend the benefits of the Centre's assistance to the common man in Himachal.

"From an all-important rural employment generations scheme like MNREGA the state government utilised only 56% of the total funding by the Centre in the past six years. From the National Rural Health Mission the state used only R8 crore against the provision of Rs 142 crore," the PM said.

"The state has gone backwards in the primary education sector in the past few years. Since 2007-08, enrolment in primary and upper primary schools has gone down heavily. The Centre has given financial sanction for recruitment of 5,800 teachers but the state recruited less than 4,100," the PM said, alleging that the BJP government "scuttled" the UPA government's efforts to develop the hill state.

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