The corruption din seems to be echoing in the election campaign of the BJP with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Congress candidate Pramila Devi being targeted even as the Opposition seems confident of retaining its hold on its bastion, Bhoranj. The BJP, led by former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, is urging the voters to defeat the Congress which has become a synonymous with corruption. “He may be crying hoarse about being a political victim but the fact is that it was during the UPA regime that he had to quit as Union Steel Minister and the registration of an FIR was recommended against him,” said Prem Kumar Dhumal, addressing a nukkad sabha in Dhoh village in Kanjian Panchayat today.
Other BJP leaders, including Vikram Jaryal, MLA, and Praveen Sharma, a former minister, also raked up corruption. “While Shanta Kumar is remembered as paniwala CM and Prem Kumar Dhumal as sadakwala CM, Virbhadra will go down in history for corruption,” they remarked.
They also raised questions on the claims of the Congress candidate that she hailed from a humble Dalit family by pointing out that in her own election affidavit, she had mentioned that she had bank deposits worth over Rs 30 lakh.
The BJP leaders also pointed fingers at the local Congress leaders for running a transfer mafia and taking bribes for getting transfers of government employees done. “Kamal ka button dabao, transfer karne walon ko hatao”, said Dhumal. He said people were fed up with the rampant corruption in Himachal.
“It is a mere coincidence that he happens to be the son of ID Dhiman, otherwise he was serving as Deputy Director in the Health Department and has a clean image,” said Dhumal, countering the Congress propaganda of dynastic politics.
Dhumal also turned the tables on Congress allegations of playing up the card of regionalism by stating that Hamirpur had the highest literacy rate and the youth from here had made a mark in every field, especially the armed forces, but during the Congress rule, they were not considered fit to be recruited as a clerk and peon in the state Secretariat.
“Everyone has the right to seek votes in a democracy but it is the right of the voter to question the candidate about his contribution,” said Dhumal. “Each one of you must ask Congress leaders about their contribution in Bhoranj as they even criticised Government Degree College here,” he said.
Dhumal who is holding meeting every day was accompanied by MLAs Ravinder Singh Ravi and Govind Thakur. “Let the people of Bhoranj repeat the history by laying the foundation for the formation of a BJP regime in HP similar to that when I contested the Lok Sabha byelection in 2007 and BJP came to power in 2007,” he said.
News Source Tribune India
