Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2017: Narendra Modi govt is anti-hill states, says Congress

Shimla: Chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday dubbed the Modi government as “anti-hill states” and said it failed to fulfil its poll promises. Prime Minister Narendra Modi abolished the special category state status to Himachal Pradesh in 2015, he claimed. [caption id=“attachment_4190559” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress leader Randeep Surjewala. News18[/caption] He said that the BJP, which was attacking the Congress on the issue of corruption, should explain how the turnover of BJP president Amit Shah son’s business firm “increased phenomenally” after the Modi government assumed office. He alleged that cases were also pending against the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur in the Supreme Court. Surjewala said that decisions on demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) were “undemocratic” and these moves hurt the economy. He claimed that the election was between the money power of the BJP and the dedicated workers of the Congress. He also alleged that the NDA government was “misusing” investigating agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to “hijack” the mandate in Himachal Pradesh. The state goes to polls on 9 November.