The Hindu : Front Page : Poll campaign ends in Himachal

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Tuesday, Dec 18, 2007
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Poll campaign ends in Himachal

Kanwar Yogendra

Vote for Congress for maintaining stability in development: Prime Minister

— Photo: PTI

Hand of assurance: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh waving to the gathering at a Congress rally at Bilaspur on Monday.

SHIMLA: The three-week campaign for 65 seats in the second and final phase of the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh ended here on Monday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wound up the Congress campaign, addressing rallies at Bilaspur and Palampur, while BJP leader L.K. Advani spoke at meetings at Fatehpur in Kangra and Shimla.

Dr. Singh said the BJP was trying to divide the people on regional, caste and religious lines, and it indulged in corrupt practices during its tenure at the Centre and in the State.

At Bilaspur, he said: “You know when it was in power, development came to a standstill and the State exchequer became empty.”

Stability factor

Dr. Singh sought another chance for the Congress to maintain stability in development, which, he said, would suffer if the people voted for the BJP.

“Vote for the Congress if you want an environment of development and peace in the State. If you bring the Congress to power, the Centre will give more financial help to the State”, he said.

The Centre had extended the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to all 12 districts of the State. It had also taken up work on the Bhanupali-Bilaspur rail line project, a long pending demand. The Centre chose Shimla for the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, under which infrastructure would be developed on a massive scale.

Mr. Advani said the chances of en early Lok Sabha election would recede if the BJP won the Gujarat and Himachal elections.

“Sad commentary”

Criticising the UPA government of being soft on terrorism and “bartering away” the security interests of the country to “appease minorities,” he said it was a sad commentary on the functioning of the government that Afzal Guru, main accused in the Parliament attack case, had not yet been hanged in spite of the High Court and the Supreme Court upholding the death sentence awarded to him by a lower court.

Attributing the growth of the BJP from a party of just two seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to Ayodhya temple movement, Mr. Advani said it was a national campaign which exposed the “pseudo-secularism and minority politics of the Congress.”

“Corruption-free”

Stressing the need for electing a government which assured good governance, he said the BJP government in Gujarat was a model of good governance.

It was a “corruption-free government working for the State’s welfare,” he said.

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