Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (May 24, 2024) said he enjoyed an old relationship with Himachal Pradesh and the state’s lofty mountains taught him a lesson and provided him strength and courage to fight on amid adversity.
“The high mountains of Himachal taught me to always keep my spirits high. The snowy hills taught me to work with a cool mind. The mountains have taught me to hold my head high with pride,” said the PM as he kicked off his election rally in Himachal Pradesh’s Nahan, seeking votes for Shimla parliamentary constituency candidate Suresh Kashyap.
Stronger govt vis-à-vis border states
Modi said Himachal was a state adjacent to the border, and that the state people knew the meaning of a strong and powerful government. “Modi will risk his life for you, but will not let the crisis come. Under the Congress regime, there was a weak government in the country and Pakistan would hold us to ransom. But no more, we can now teach a lesson to our enemies by entering their homes,” he said.
Beginning his address at Nahan’s Chowgan ground in local Pahari dialect, he said, “PM ne sabhi khey dhal, sabhi khey meri Ram Ram (happy greetings from the PM to you all).” Emphasising his long-standing connection with Himachal Pradesh, he said, “Times have changed, but Modi has not changed. Modi has the same old relationship with Himachal. Himachal is my home. I have come to my home.”
Mentions local dishes ‘patande’, ‘siddu’
He said he still remembered local dishes ‘patande’ and ‘siddu’ that he would cherish when he would visit Himachal earlier. The PM also mentioned local deities Maa Bala Sundari, Mata Renuka, Parshuram ki Dharti, Chudeshwar Maharaj, Shirgul and Mahasu Devta as he wooed the electorate in favour of BJP candidate from Shimla parliamentary constituency Suresh Kashyap.
The PM is scheduled to address another rally on Friday in Mandi where party candidate and actor Kangana Ranaut is locked in a fierce contest against Congress minister Vikramaditya Singh.
Targets CM Sukhu over unfulfilled promises
The PM launched a scathing attack on the Congress and its government in Himachal Pradesh, accusing Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of failing to fulfill his electoral promises. He targeted the opposition INDIA bloc, alleging that it had torn the Constitution into pieces. “The Constitution does not matter to them.
The Congress used to oppose Ram Mandir only for its vote bank. They opposed the sanctification of the temple. There is a conspiracy going on in the Congress regarding the Ram temple. If the Congress comes to power, they will lock the Ram temple,” he asserted.
Modi criticised the Himachal Pradesh Congress government for not delivering on its promises. “In Himachal, the Congress promised to reinstate the old pension scheme in their first cabinet meeting. But the pension was not received. Instead, the cabinet itself broke down.
Did women get the promised Rs 1,500? Did the youth get five lakh jobs in the first cabinet? Leave aside jobs, this is a locksmith government. The commission which provides jobs was locked. The Congress is communal, casteist and dynastic,” he said.
