Modi claims Cong has ‘fled’ Himachal, it’s ‘one-sided race’

New Delhi: Predicting that the BJP will come to power in Himachal Pradesh as people have already made up their minds to throw out the “corrupt” Congress government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Congress leaders have realised that they are not coming back to power and have “run away from the battlefield” due to the one-sided contest.

Hitting out at the Congress Party’s plans to burn his effigies on the anniversary of the note ban on November 8, Mr Modi said that such protests will not deter him from uprooting corruption. Mr Modi, who addressed three rallies in the hill state at Una, Palampur and Kullu, continued his attack on the Congress, and said: “The Congress has left the ground and run away. This election has become one-sided, never seen earlier,” he said, about the November 9 poll.

He said it is hard to separate “Congress and corruption from each other” and when it comes to “vikas (development),” the party is famous for “atkana, latkana aur bhatkana (creating hurdles)”.

“The Congress and corruption are inseparable, they are like a tree and its roots. All their leaders are out on bail after facing serious charges of corruption and they are speaking about putting a check on corruption,” he said, adding: “Corruption is the only identity of the Congress Party.”

Voting in 68 Assembly constituencies in the state is due on November 9 and the results will be out on December 18.

Mr Modi said instead of preparing for the poll campaign, the Congress was busy preparing for November 8 when they will “burn my effigies” to mark the first anniversary of demonetisation. “A few people who faced the heat of demonetisation are still complaining and are planning to observe November 8 as a ‘black day’. The Congress cannot scare me by burning my effigies... My fight against corruption will not stop,” he said.

The Opposition parties, including the Congress, have decided to mark the first anniversary of the Modi government’s decision of demonetising higher currency notes as a “black day”, while the BJP will observe it as “anti-black money day.”

The Prime Minister highlighted that three lakh shell companies have been shut down after demonetisation and a probe into 5,000 such firms has found a fraud of Rs 4,000 crore.

Mr Modi accused former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of not going for a note ban when needed and said that he would not have had to carry out this big task had she taken the step years ago.

“Had she done note ban when needed, I would not have had to carry out this big task. For the Congress, it is never ‘dal se bada desh’ (country bigger than party). For them only their party’s interest  comes first,” he said.

In Una, Mr Modi said, “I will be sad about only one thing in this election, that is the Congress party has already left the battlefield, and such one-sided election has never happened before.”

Invoking local deities in his rallies, Mr Modi also cited Kullu’s famous Dusshera celebration and said he is indebted to the hill state where he had spent many years as an incharge of the saffron party and learnt a lot.

The Prime Minister said he will pay off the debt through development in the state.

Heaping praise on former chief minister and party veteran Shanta Kumar in Palampur, Mr Modi cited how he toiled to make sure that potable water reached everywhere in the hill state during his tenure as the chief minister. Mr Kumar, who is apparently unhappy with the party for not fielding some candidates close to him, has a major stronghold in the region.

Mr Modi also praised party’s chief ministerial candidate P.K. Dhumal for promoting tourism in the state.

Asking people to make sure that they bring the BJP to power with three fourth majority, Mr Modi said the coming election is not just about one party  losing and another winning but deciding Himachal Pradesh’s fate.

Mr Modi accused the Congress of being responsible for many social evils in India as he blamed it for promoting corruption and communal, caste and social disharmony.

He reiterated that the state needs to be freed of five danavs (demons) — “mining mafia, forest mafia, drug mafia, tender mafia and ‘transfer mafia”, for which the state needs to throw out the incumbent Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government.