Shimla, January 2
BJP State President Dr. Rajeev Bindal launched a scathing attack on the Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, accusing it of once again targeting the poorest sections of society. He said that during the last more than three years, the Congress government has made life miserable for the common man, the poor and the middle class, and is now preparing to implement new BPL (Below Poverty Line) norms with the clear intention of excluding large numbers of genuine poor families from welfare benefits.
Dr. Bindal said that once these new BPL rules are implemented, a massive drop in the number of BPL beneficiaries will be seen. Even genuine and extremely poor families, who actually deserve government support, will be pushed out of the BPL category. This, he said, is not an administrative reform but a well-planned conspiracy to deprive the poor of their rights.
The BJP State President stated that Congress keeps talking about “system change,” but in reality, the Sukhu government is working towards a systemic collapse for the poor. He pointed out that the Narendra Modi–led central government has introduced the ‘Viksit Bharat – Rozgar aur Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)’ (VB-G RAM G) scheme, which guarantees 125 days of employment along with multiple facilities for poor and daily-wage families. However, the Himachal Pradesh government is indulging in irresponsible statements about this scheme and is deliberately misleading villagers and poor households.
Dr. Bindal said that earlier too, the Congress government failed to deposit its share under MGNREGA, depriving rural people and the poor of its benefits, while shamelessly blaming the Centre. The same pattern is now being repeated with the Ji Ram Ji scheme. This approach amounts to grave injustice to rural and poor communities.
Dr. Bindal further alleged that the Congress government has also failed to ensure that thousands of crores of rupees released by the central government for disaster-affected poor families reach the actual beneficiaries. Instead, there are serious allegations of misuse and diversion of disaster relief funds. Money that should have been spent in affected areas and on affected families is neither reaching them nor resulting in development on the ground.
Dr. Bindal pointed out that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President J.P. Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah, the central government released ₹300 crore and an additional ₹601 crore for Himachal Pradesh. However, the state government has failed to utilise this money properly and has diverted its focus away from public welfare, continuing its injustice towards the poor.
Dr. Bindal warned that the Bharatiya Janata Party will fight relentlessly—from the streets to the legislature—to protect the rights of the poor, BPL families and disaster-affected people, and will continue to expose the anti-poor policies of the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh.
