Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday stated that the Congress government is “rubbing salt on the wounds” of disaster-affected families by holding a celebration for its three years in office in Mandi district.
Talking to mediapersons in Sundernagar (Mandi), Jai Ram said organising such a big event when people were still suffering from recent natural calamities was “playing with the sentiments of the people.”
He added that the government should have focused on ground realities and relief work instead of celebrating its three-year term. Thakur alleged the Congress government had “failed on all fronts” and delivered “zero achievements” in three years. He said the government had not provided proper help to affected families, and while devastation was visible everywhere, the administration was busy celebrating.
He said the absence of senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with the family of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, showed there was “infighting within the Congress.”
Referring to the absence of former Congress president Pratibha Singh and PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, he said it seemed the Congress no longer valued the Virbhadra family, or that they kept away on purpose from what he called a humiliating situation.
Thakur said the government should focus on relief and rehabilitation instead of celebrations and claimed that in its three years, the Congress had limited itself to political shows and announcements.
In a statement, BJP state media in-charge and MLA Randhir Sharma called the event “an open exhibition of three years of failed governance, betrayal and mismanagement.”
He said the speeches by Congress leaders showed the government was collapsing from within, struggling with internal fights, while people continued to suffer under rising burdens.
"Having no development to show after three years, the Congress government is now misusing power, intimidating officers, employees and the public," Sharma said, adding that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Aghinotri has threatened the officials from the stage.
He questioned whether the Congress was celebrating false guarantees, closure of welfare schemes and stopping development work.
Sharma claimed genuine Congress workers were hardly visible at the rally, alleging most people present were government employees or beneficiaries brought using official machinery. He also claimed the food and arrangements were paid for using disaster relief funds, calling it a “double betrayal to the people.”
In another statement, BJP leader and former Speaker Vipin Parmar said the saddest sight at the rally was unemployed nurses holding placards about their bleak future while the Congress government tried to drown out their pain with drums and music.
He said nurses were asking for justice while the government was celebrating, calling it an insensitive and anti-people attitude of the Congress government.
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