Shimla: Congress today dismissed the BJP manifesto as an old document dusted up at election time with the hope that it would help the party to encash votes and ride into power.
Reacting to the BJP manifesto that was released yesterday, Kuldeep Rathor, congress spokesperson said, “there is nothing novel in the BJP manifesto and most of the issues given prominence in the policy document already stand implemented by the congress government. “Its only old wine in new bottle,†he said.
In fact the BJP coined slogan ‘Brashtachar Mukt – Vikas Yukt’ (corruption free – development oriented) governance for the election campaign is the anti-thesis of what the party practiced when it was in power, he said.
The congress government was already working towards generating employment avenues, empowering women, boosting investments in industrial and tourism sectors and was laying emphasis on quality education, which the BJP is promising in its manifesto
Rathore claimed that the Congress government had implemented the concept of a social welfare state in letter and spirit. “Employees had directly drawn benefits of Rs 900 crore, and a memorandum of understanding of Rs 800 crore for road development had been signed, he said. The BJP was trying to mislead over the World Bank loan as it comes to the state in a shape of 90 percent grant and the loan component is only 10 percent, he clarified.
Rathore refuted that the congress government was facing any anti-incumbency in the state and had been successful in persuading the central government in allotting a central university and an IIT for the state. The congress would soon release its manifesto, he said.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
