Modi slams Congress, visits key dera in hill state push

SOLAN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday raised the pitch in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaign for the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections with two public rallies in which he accused the Congress of neglecting the hill state and indulging in corruption in defence deals. Modi also visited the Radha Soami Satsang Beas dera near Amritsar in Punjab and met with its head Gurinder Singh Dhillon — a move seen by political commentators as an outreach to the group’s large follower base in the neighbouring hill state.

Addressing a gathering in Solan, Modi said the faction-ridden Congress is incapable of providing a stable government, which is a prerequisite for ensuring development and good law and order. He said the “three decades of unstable governments at the Centre”, a reference to the Opposition’s rule, resulted in the waste of resources and poor development.

“Congress means instability, selfishness, nepotism and corruption,” he said, adding: “Three decades were wasted as elections happened frequently; there was uncertainty and lot of money was wasted.”

At the rally, where candidates from 18 constituencies were present, the PM said, “People need not remember the candi