Government misusing official machinery to arrange crowd for PM Modi's Himachal rally: Former minister

The prime minister is to address a rally in Dharamshala on December 27 to observer the first anniversary of the BJP rule in the state.
Narendra Modi.  (File Photo)
Narendra Modi. (File Photo)

DHARAMSHALA: Former minister G S Bali Sunday accused the Himachal government of misusing the official machinery for arranging people to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed rally here next week.

The prime minister is to address a rally in Dharamshala on December 27 to observer the first anniversary of the BJP rule in the state.

"The state government is misusing the official machinery for gathering a crowd for the PM's proposed rally on December 27 in Dharamshala," Bali, a senior Congress leader, told reporters in Kangra.

Bali claimed that all sub-divisional magistrates in the state have been asked to ensure a large gathering of people to attend the prime minister's rally.

For this, the officials have been asked to identify beneficiaries of various government schemes and arrange for their to-and-fro travel to the prime minister's rally site from all nooks and corners of the state, he added.

The former minister said, "We too organised many rallies for prime ministers in the past, but never used such tactics.

He claimed that even school teachers have been ordered to bring school children in civil dress to the rally site. "Employees are being terrorised and told that if they don't obey these orders, they would be transferred," he said.

Bali said it is a serious matter and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur should intervene in it. "The chief minister should ask the Education Departments not to shut down schools on the rally day. They should bring general public and not the school children or government employees to attend the rally," he said.

Bali said the chief minister should also clarify whether it is a rally to celebrate one year of the BJP rule in the state or the five-year rule of the BJP in the centre or a function of the beneficiaries of the central government schemes.

"There is no major achievement of the present Jai Ram Thakur government for the past one year except the huge number of transfers," added Bali.

Bali claimed a sharp increase in employment rate in the state in last one year of the Tahkur government's rule, saying that the state has presently at least 10 lakh unemployed youths.

"And the BJP government has even withdrawn the unemployment allowance started by the Congress government," he ruled.

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