Chief Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh while addressing a public meeting at Dada-Siba in Jaswan-Pragpur constituency of district Kangra today exhorted the people to vote in favour of present ruling Congress government to ensure development and welfare at large. Unlike the Bhartiya Janta Party, the Congress party believes in uniting and not dividing the people on basis of caste, region and religion.
The BJP has no agenda of its own, he said adding that since last many years while dealing with the BJP, he learnt their modus-operandi of divide and rule quite well.
The Chief Minister said that he respects the Prime Minister Narendar Modi as an individual, but Modi should not try dividing the people on social and other issues. Today, the Prime Minister was facing stiff opposition in Gujarat itself and his graph was fast declining. The GST issue had confused the common man and the business community in particular. The former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has also blamed Modi Government for derailing the economy. Sinha blamed the Modi government for befooling the youth in name of employment. He said that demonetisation was a disastrous step as the move to curb the black money was taken in haste without taking people into confidence. He said the people of the country have understood the false claims of NDA government in the name of development. He expressed surprise that, his single case of income tax returns and was being investigated by three central agencies.
The State has witnessed immense revolution in education sector, he said adding that as of today, all the villages of the state were provided electricity and the state had received 100 percent electrification. Besides the state has achieved excellence in health sector as well. He said that the government had given adequate land for opening of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Himachal Pradesh as required by Union Ministry of Health. To strengthen the health infrastructure, around 230 new health institutions were either opened or upgraded in the state during the last five years of its regime. Other than this, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical college at Chamba and Dr. Y. S. Parmar medical college at Nahan had started functioning with provision of 100 MBBS seats in each college. The ESIC medical college at Ner Chowk was taken over by the state government from the centre and had also started functioning. The Medical college at Hamirpur will soon be commissioned provided the forest clearance issues were solved, said the Chief Minister.
Earlier he laid foundation stone of additional block of Government Senior Secondary School at Saleti.
He inaugurated four bridges viz a bridge across Saleti Khud, Punani I & Punani II and across Tutru rivulet on Kaloha-Shanta road completed with an outlay of Rs.85 lakh, Rs 22 lakh, Rs 48 lakh and Rs 1.20 crore respectively. He also inaugurated the newly upgraded veterinary hospital at Shantla.
The Chief Minister dedicated the Balika Ashram at Garli completed with an outlay of Rs 3.14 crore with a capacity to house 72 orphans.
Later, while at Dadasiba, the Chief Minister inaugurated the newly upgraded Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Bari completed with an outlay of Rs. 42 lakh and dedicated Tehsil Welfare Officers Office at Dadasiba.
He also inaugurated the augmentation and upgradation of as many as nine water supply schemes under Jaswan Pragpur area completed with an outlay of Rs 7.18 crore. This will benefit a population of around 35000 in near future. The schemes includes Pir-Saluhi, Basalag Chouli, Ramkar-Kharoti, Gudra-Chaplah, Bani Khadwana, Rori-Kori, Swana-Tiamal, Dad-Nangal, Chownk- Hatwaal Balghar and Bassi-Gheory.
Thakur Surinder Singh Mankotia, Vice-Chairman, HP Worker Welfare Board blamed the sitting MLA for ignoring the development of this area. He said that even the ‘Siberian Cranes’ visit the area every year but the sitting MLA never cares to visit the place even once in a year adding that he needs to learn lesson from these birds. He blamed the MLA from the area for halting the construction work of Jandaur college.
MLA, Sanjay Rattan, Brigadier Rajinder Rana were also present on the occasion amongst representatives of Panchayats and Mahilaa and Yuvak Mandals.
