Cong: Vikas yatra will prove destructive for BJP govt

Raipur, May 17, 2013

Congress on Friday said vikas yatra would prove destructive for BJP government as chief minister Raman Singh was engrossed in self-admiration misusing public money. “The people actually want the government to tell what it did for them in over nine years of its regime instead of praising self,” said Congress spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla. 

Reminding the ruling party that it did not fulfill promises it made to people in 2003 and 2008 assembly polls, Shukla said tribals, farmers and unemployed youth were still looking at it with hope. 

He said the government had promised to distribute cow to every tribal family, provide job to one member of each tribal family, unemployment allowance to unemployed youth, open sufficient dal-bhat centres to provide meals at the rate of Rs 5 and free electricity for irrigation pumps to farmers. 

He said the government had announced to distribute Rs 270 per quintal paddy bonus to farmers for five years but was giving only year’s bonus. He asked why the ruling party did not merge Shikshakarmis despite promising them of doing so in 24 hours. 

He said the government also failed to restore peace in Bastar. “While on one side the BJP boasts of giving good governance, on the other it is engaged in selling lands, forests and water of Chhattisgarh,” he added.

He asked why the BJP government was charging 25% tax on petrol when it had dreamt of tax-free state ten years back. 

Indicating that the people were irritated with frequent power cuts and continuous hike in electricity rates, he said it was an irony that such situation arose despite government’s claims that Chhattisgarh is a power surplus state.

He said the people gave mandate to BJP twice but it did nothing, except grafts and deceiving the former by claiming to have done development which is untrue.