Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday assured the people of Himachal Pradesh that his Congress party would fulfill all its election promises such as restoring the old pension system, 300 units of free power and Rs 1,500 per month for women.
At a rally in favor of congressional candidate Vikramaditya Singh, he calls on the electorate to say ‘Jai Ram’ (farewell) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and elect a congressional government according to the tradition of voting out the incumbent.
“Congress does what it says. All promises will be fulfilled in Himachal as has been done in Chhattisgarh. The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is being implemented in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, and Himachal will be the fourth state to implement it,” he told the meeting.
He asked the Center for not releasing state officials’ funds deposited into the national pension scheme, saying, “How can the Center hold onto the funds since the money belongs to the employees of the state and the state government.” The Center will not be able to hold back the release of pension funds for long and the old pension scheme will be restored, he claimed.
Congress is trying to take power from the BJP in the hill state, where Congress and the BJP have ruled alternately for the past few decades.
The Himachal Pradesh polls will be held on November 12 and the vote counting will take place on December 8.
Restoring the old pension scheme, 300 units of free power, a start-up fund of Rs 680 crore, a lakh of jobs and Rs 1,500 per month for women between the ages of 18 and 60 are among the promises made by Congress in its manifesto to the Himachal Pradesh polls.
Baghel said Congress is giving money to people and the BJP is taking the money out of their pockets by raising taxes on petrol and diesel and the prices of essential goods.
“Have faith in Congress, you will get free power, OPS and Rs 1,500 for women to help boost your income,” he said while urging people to elect Singh from Shimla Rural constituency.
Singh is the son of former Prime Minister Virbhadra Singh.
“All issues are for the people and there are only a few hours left before the elections. They have all made up their minds, whatever the BJP may say,” he said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge attended the poll.
Baghel said everyone knows that Kharge became the president of the congress after an election, but nobody knows when JP Nadda became the BJP president twice. BJP President Nadda is from Himachal Pradesh.
“Democracy is in Congress and not in the BJP and people know that,” he said.
He quoted a video that went viral on social media in which the prime minister urged a BJP rebel to step aside and claimed the BJP has 21 rebels in the fray.
“You’ve seen BJPs for five years and they have nothing to say to the people. No jobs have been given, no airport by Jai Ram ji and it’s time to say ‘Jai Ram’ (goodbye) to Jai Ram Thakur,” he said.
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