Una (Himachal Pradesh): Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for carrying out a tirade against the Congress-led state government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He said it was wrong of the BJP to allege that development had become haywire in the state since the Congress came to power.
Addressing media persons on the sidelines of a function during his daylong tour to the Una district, Sukhu raised questions about the construction of the Una-Talwara railway line promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the assembly elections. The prime minister, during his Una visit before the last assembly elections, had stated that the Una-Talwara railway line that could not be readied in 50 years would be completed in two years, Sukhu said and asked what was the status of the project.
Accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Sukhu laid the foundation stone for 18 development projects here worth around Rs 288 crore, officials said. Speaking to reporters, the chief minister also hit out at Union minister Anurag Thakur for claiming that Congress' guarantees were fake.
We have implemented our first and most important guarantee of providing the Old Pension Scheme to 1.36 lakh employees in the state, he added. Taking a jibe at Thakur, he asked when Rs 15 lakh would reflect in the bank accounts of the state's people. He also reminded the Union minister of his promise of providing employment to two crore people every year.
On the election results in five states, the chief minister said the exit polls have come in favour of Congress and the Central government will also be formed by the party. Later, addressing a public meeting at Una, Sukhu said a survey would be conducted for the construction of a bypass for Una town. He also announced drainage projects for Una town, Santoshgarh, Sanoli, Veenebaal, Poona, Malukpur, and Majra village, expansion of Lift Irrigation Scheme at Bhavaur Sahib and construction of sewage in Lower Araniala, Malahat, Rampur and Rakkar adjacent to the district headquarters.
He said 10,000 posts would be filled in the Jal Shakti Department. Besides, the process is underway to recruit 7,000 teachers, 2,000 forest guards, and 1,226 police personnel in this fiscal year. The women will be provided 30 per cent reservation in police recruitment, he added. The chief minister also distributed Rs 4.10 crore among disaster-hit families. Monetary assistance of Rs 76.08 lakh was provided for the Amb sub-division, Rs. 85.94 lakh for Gagret, Rs. 48.14 lakh for Una sub-division, Rs. 82.15 lakh for Haroli sub-division and Rs. 1.17 crore for Bangana sub-division, a statement issued here said. (PTI)
