Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India]: Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks regarding Congress’ promises in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state’s Congress government has delivered “five out of the ten guarantees” made during the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections and the government is “steadfastly dedicated” towards fulfilling the promises and fostering inclusive development across the state.
In a post on X, Sukhu wrote, “Sh @narendramodi ji, The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is steadfastly dedicated to fulfilling our promises and fostering inclusive development across the state. We are proud to have already delivered on five out of the ten guarantees made during the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections.”
Sharing details of state’s government works, the Himachal CM said that they reinstated the Old Pension Scheme for state employees, secured a monthly allowance for women, launched a startup fund to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and became the first state to implement Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for milk.
CM Sukhu said on X, “Here’s what we’ve achieved: Reinstated the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for state employees. Secured a monthly allowance of Rs 1500 for eligible women.
Introduced English-medium education starting from Class 1. Launched a startup fund of Rs 680 crore to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across the state. First state to implement MSP for milk: Rs 45 per liter for cow milk and Rs 55 per liter for buffalo milk.”
“Ahead of Diwali, we disbursed salaries and pensions on October 28th and increased the Dearness Allowance by 11% for government employees within just 22 months of governance. Through the “Vyavstha Parivartan” initiative, we are working toward self-reliance despite a challenging financial situation: Rs 75,000 crore debt inherited from the previous BJP government and Rs 23,000 crore still pending from the Union Government,” the post further reads.
Counting the achievements of the state government, he said that they boosted Himachal Pradesh’s economy by 20 per cent by generating Rs 2,200 crore revenue.
Highlighting the government’s vision, CM Sukhu said that the government is focused on making Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant state by 2027 and a most prosperous state by 2032.
On X he wrote, “In just one year, our government has: Boosted the state’s economy by 20%, generating an additional Rs 2,200 crore in revenue. Our Vision is to make Himachal Pradesh self-reliant by 2027 and the most prosperous state in India by 2032 and to create an empowered, opportunity-rich environment for every individual in Himachal Pradesh, and we are working every day to make this vision a reality.”
Meanwhile, in a blistering attack on PM Modi, Senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai said that Congress never dared to call their promises ‘jumla’ and PM Modi should know that promises made to people are connected to democratic values, to trust, to relations, to connectivity.
He further took a jibe at BJP recalling the promises that the party had made during the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections campaigning.
“I get surprised when PM speaks on promises. What he had not promised in the 2014 elections, from Rs 15 Lakhs in accounts to doubling of farmers’ income, 2 crore jobs every year, facilities for women… Congress has the tradition to fulfil what it promises…PM should know that promises made to people are connected to democratic values, to trust, to relations, to connectivity. We can never dare to call our promises ‘jumla’ and let them be…PM should think that democracy means commitment – for the right, for the compliance of promise. If you fail to do that, look into a mirror. Don’t raise the mirror for Congress,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, PM Modi criticized the Congress Party for failing to deliver on their promises in Karnataka and urged the people to be vigilant and not fall prey to the Party’s false promises.
PM Modi emphasized the Congress Party’s history of making empty promises, citing their unfulfilled loan waiver commitments in several states, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
“The Congress Party is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them properly is tough or impossible. Campaign after campaign they promise things to the people, which they also know they will never be able to deliver. Now, they stand badly exposed in front of the people,” PM Modi posted on X.
Citing the example of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, the Prime Minister said that the Congress Party’s promises to these states remained unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon the people of these states.
“Check any state where the Congress has Governments today – Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana – the developmental trajectory and fiscal health is turning from bad to worse. Their so-called Guarantees lie unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon the people of these states. The victims of such politics are the poor, youngsters, farmers and women, who are not only denied the benefits of these promises but also see their existing schemes diluted,” he said.