MANDI: Rapid progress and a stable government are necessary for Himachal Pradesh, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding the people of the state had made up their minds to retain BJP in power.
“Every single vote will define the state’s development journey for the next 25 years,” said the PM.
Addressing an election rally at Sundernagar in the home district of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, PM Modi said the state polls this time were special because the votes cast on November 12 would not only decide the state’s fate for the next five years but also define what shape the state’s development would take for the next 25 years. “A few weeks ago, India completed 75 years of independence. When the country celebrates 100 years of its independence, closer to that, Himachal will also complete 100 years of its formation. Therefore, the next 25 years are going to be very crucial,’’ said Modi.
“During the Congress rule, many elements with vested interests emerged who did not want to see a stable government in India. Small states of the country have always been the target of these groups. From Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, many such small states have now rejected instability. The same happened in Uttar Pradesh, but the people there changed the scenario and brought Yogi ji’s government again,” he said.“The people know the BJP stands for stability, sewa bhaav (service), sam-bhaav (equanimity) and accorded the highest priority to development. That’s why the people of Himachal Pradesh have decided to bring the BJP back to power. I am happy the people of Himachal, its youth, mothers and sisters understand this very well.’’
He also praised One Rank One Pension scheme that ensured pensions for the families of the armed forces living in the state.The PM again raised his pitch for a ‘double engine government’ for better development of Himachal Pradesh.“We gave free vaccines to the state. If Himachal had a Congress government, then the state would have been the last to receive these vaccines. You (the public) pressed the right button (on the EVM) and that’s why so much development happened,’’ he said.
Taking a dig at the former Congress governments, he said they built “only 15 houses” for the people. “Making false promises and giving false guarantees has been an old trick of the Congress. It never gave priority to the development of the state while BJP fulfilled its promises,’’ he said.“After Independence, Congress committed country’s first scam in the defence sector. During its regime, Congress always took commissions in defence deals. It committed scams of thousands of crores,’’ alleged Modi.
The PM also addressed a rally in Solan, where he touched on the ‘double engine’ theme and praised Solan’s development. Attacking the previous governments at the Centre, Modi said, “For 30 years there was instability in Delhi as crores of rupees were wasted in frequent elections. In 2014, people voted for a stable government,” he said.Earlier the PM visited Radha Soami Satsang at Beas near Amritsar in Punjab and met its chief Gurinder Singh Dhillon. Modi also went to the community kitchen of the sect. In February, the PM met Dhillon in Delhi and also praised the spiritual organisation for its social service.