Time to choose between corruption, progress: Shah

DHARAMSALA:  Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a swipe at the Congress and also raised the Hindutva pitch during his poll rallies in Himachal Pradesh. Addressing a rally here on Wednesday in support of BJP candidate Rakesh Chaudhary, Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was born in Gujarat but Himachal remained his ‘karmabhoomi’ as maximum development took place here.

Asking people to choose between a “corrupt” Congress government or Modi’s “politics of performance,” Shah cited that under the Ayushman Bharat and Himcare schemes, 10 lakh families have been given free health cover up to Rs 5 lakh, while 7lakh families got 5kg free ration per person for over two years during the pandemic. “Every house in the state has a toilet and power connection today,” Shah said, mentioning the setting up of AIIMS, drug park and Atal Tunnel.

He also brought up the Ram Mandir issue, and said, “The Congress could not construct Ram Mandir in 60 years, while PM Narendra Modi started its work soon after being elected for a second term. Book your tickets for 2024 as by then the temple would be ready.”

Attacking the grand old party, Shah said, “The Congress never seeks vote on the basis of performance. But I am here to give details about what the Narendra Modi-led central government and Jairam Thakur’s state government has done for Himachal during the last five years.”