Cong an ATM that dispenses false promises, says Shah

RAIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah attacked the Congress in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, accusing it of making false promises and alleging that it never wanted the formation of the state that was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000.

Speaking in Dhamtari district, Shah called the Congress “an ATM” that dispenses “false promises” instead of development when problems are inserted in it. “The Congress is known for its false promises and nothing was done in the last 55 years of their rule. Raman Singh has made Chhattisgarh a surplus power state and now Chhattisgarh is known for its production of aluminium, cement and steel,” he said.

Later in the day in Raigarh, Shah sought to claim credit for the formation of Chhattisgarh.

“The Congress was not in favour of the formation of Chhattisgarh as a state. It became possible only after Atal ji’s (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) government came to power at the Centre. Otherwise, the region would have still been part of Madhya Pradesh. Vajpayee ji created Chhattisgarh and in 15 years, chief minister Raman Singh has developed it,” Shah said.

He also tore into the Congress manifesto.

“The Congress’s manifesto is ‘jhut ka pulinda’ (bunch of lies). The Congress was defeated in 14 states where the BJP formed the government. The Congress is a party that makes false promises and assurances, and the BJP is the only party which does development work,” Shah said in Raigarh.

The Congress rejected the allegations. “Each and every resident of Chhattisgarh knows about the lies of Raman Singh and PM Modi. We are going to win in Chhattisgarh because of both their lies. Amit Shah is only misleading people, nothing else,” senior leader and Congress spokesperson RP Singh said.

The election to the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly is being held in two phases.

The first phase of polling in 18 seats was held on November 12. The second round of voting for the remaining 72 seats will be held on November 20. The results will be announced on December 11.