‘Mr Modi, don’t lie’: Kaul Singh counters PM on ‘bungling’ of central disaster grants
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Munish Sood
MANDI: Senior Himachal Pradesh Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly misleading the public while addressing a rally in Mandi on Friday regarding the 2023 disaster relief provided to the state by the Centre.
Kaul Singh accused Modi of providing only Rs 300 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) when the state suffered a massive loss of Rs 12,000 crore due to the unprecedented disaster.
“Despite the significant damage, Modi did not even express sympathy via a tweet. Instead, during his rally yesterday, he falsely claimed that the central government provided crores in aid during the disaster. He also baselessly accused the state of misappropriating those funds. This is completely untrue and an investigation can be conducted by any independent authority. Mr Modi, you are the PM, you shouldn’t lie,” he said.
Kaul Singh highlighted that during the rain crisis, the Congress and the party government stood firmly with the affected people, providing Rs 4,500 crore from its own resources to help the victims. He accused Modi of misleading the public against the Congress and making unfounded statements based on alleged misinformation from former CM and BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur.
He clarified the temporary suspension of the Service Selection Board in Hamirpur, attributing it to irregularities and corruption during the BJP’s tenure. “The board had become a hub of corruption with evidence of paper leaks over the past few years. However, after thorough investigations, it has been resumed and recruitments have restarted,” he added.
Kaul Singh also accused Modi of attempting to mislead the public regarding the provision of dearness allowance to employees. “The allowance was supposed to be given, but the process was halted due to the implementation of the code of conduct in March. The Congress government, which came to power with the support of employees, is committed to their welfare,” he asserted.
The former minister emphasised that Modi’s speech lacked any substantive discussion on development in Himachal Pradesh. He noted that the foundation stone for the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane project, mentioned by Modi, was actually laid during the Congress tenure by then Minister Kamal Nath.
Accusing Modi of using derogatory language in his speeches, he stated, “Modi is the first Prime Minister to use such crude language in public addresses.”
Vikramaditya Singh, Congress candidate from Mandi, in a video post, echoed similar sentiments, challenging PM Modi to specify who provided the thousands of crores he claimed, when it was given and under which head. He asserted that the little money provided was part of Himachal’s share and not additional aid from the central government.
