SHIMLA: Lashing out at the BJP-ruled states, AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday compared the development indices of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and announced that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would be the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the seventh term again.
Addressing a rally at Padal Ground in Mandi, Mr Gandhi said the Virbhadra Singh government gave employment avenues to about 70,000 youths during the past four years. Comparing to Himachal, only 10,000 jobs were created by Gujarat.
Mr Gandhi said the Virbhadra Singh government opened as many as 1500 educational and 350 health institutions in past four years. However, no new such institutions are opened in Gujarat. As many as 55 new degree colleges were opened by Mr Singh in HP and only 10 colleges were launched in Gujarat.
Congress rule is giving old age and widow pensions at the rate of Rs 750 a woman compared to Rs 400 a woman in Gujarat. Himachal was providing Rs 1.30 lakh assistance to the beneficiary of Indira Awas Yojana whereas Gujarat was giving only Rs 70,000.
He said Himachal Pradesh under the leadership of Mr Singh has achieved many milestones but Gujarat which was projected as model state was much behind the Congress-ruled state.
Making the revelation in the rally, Mr Gandhi said BJP would not succeed to win the assembly elections. Mr Singh, who has been Chief Minister for six time, would be elected to the CM office for seventh term and would create a new history.
Mr Gandhi also took a jibe on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the rally referring an interview of Mr Modi in which he claimed to have a hobby and fondness to visit hill stations of Himachal and Uttarakhand with his footwear chappal. Referring the interview he said Mr Modi claimed to visit the height of 25,000 feet with his chappal.
Mr Gandhi also referred the interview of former BJP minister Arun Shourie in which he lashed out at Mr Modi for taking suicidal step of demonetisation.
Mr Gandhi said if people compared Mr Modi with Mr Virbhadra Singh, they would find he must have scaled all the hills in the state wearing shoes and walked all the remote and far flung areas on foot which is not less achievement for a man being the chief minister for six times.
Addressing the rally, state in charge Sushil Shinde said during the five-year rule of Mr Singh, the state has witnessed rapid progress. Terming Mr Singh a sage, he said in his Marathi accent that “Virbhadra raja nehi aid fakir hai (Mr Singh is not a king but a sage)”.
Party state co-incharge Ranjeet Ranjan said woman were suffering during the Modi rule in the country due to rising of prices after hurried implementation of GST and demonetisation. The BJP government is trying to lift the subsidy on the LPG gas and its prices are also soaring high.
The Congress leader form Bihar said BJP should work to improve the GDP which came all time low in last 20 years. Instead of blaming former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh it should take some constructive steps.
She said Himachal remained the bastion of Congress and people of the state would reelect the Congress to power again. (AGENCIES)
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