Shimla: On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi castigated the Congress administration in Himachal Pradesh for allegedly distributing central relief funds for last year’s flood victims in a biased manner. Modi vowed to investigate the allocation of the funds once reinstated to power. The state’s Congress leadership, which claimed to have earmarked Rs 4,500 crore from its treasury for the flood victims, has persistently criticized the Centre for not declaring the disaster a “national calamity” and failing to announce a special relief package.
Previously, the BJP stated that the Centre had disbursed Rs 1,762 crore for the flood victims and provided additional funds for constructing 2,300 roads and 11,000 houses. They accused the Congress of “bandarbaant” (distributing funds to selected individuals). At a political rally in Mandi, the Prime Minister also referred to Himachal Pradesh as the “sankalp bhumi” for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, alluding to the BJP’s pledge in Palampur to erect the temple.
In June 1989, the BJP national executive passed a resolution in Palampur to construct the Ram temple. Modi also endorsed Kangana Ranaut, the BJP candidate from the Mandi constituency, highlighting that she embodies the aspirations of youth and “our daughters.” He urged voters to retaliate against the Congress for their derogatory remarks about the actress, which he described as an affront to Mandi and Himachal Pradesh.
“Please, visit every temple in all the villages and seek blessings from all deities for a prosperous nation,” Modi appealed. “Kangana will be your voice and will strive for the development of Mandi.”
