Winds of UP coming to Himachal: Modi

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the wind that had swept Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi is set to reach Himachal Pradesh, which will go to polls later this year.

Speaking at Shimla, capital of the poll-bound state, he said, “Waqt badal chuka hai. Ab UP, Uttarakhand ki hawa Himachal mein aa rahi hai aur Delhi ki tazataza hawa bhi to aa rahi hai (Times have changed. Now the winds of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are entering Himachal and the fresh breeze from Delhi is also coming to these hills),” Modi said. He added that an era has dawned when people are voting only for honest regimes and the people of Himachal Pradesh too are waiting for such a regime.

Addressing the BJP’S Parivartan rally at Shimla’s Ridge Maidan, Modi hit out at Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is facing ED and CBI cases.

Without naming Virbhadra, Modisaid,“ihavenotseenanycm who spends much of his time withlawyers.thisisaverystrange example. You are intelligent and know who I am referring to.”

Modi said there was no going back on his fight against corruption and hoarders of black money and alleged that those hit by his actions, including the demonetisation move, are conspiring to hit back at him.

Donning a Himachali cap, the Prime Minister termed Himachal Pradesh ‘Dev Bhoomi’ and ‘Veer Bhoomi’ and referred to how his government addressed the issue of One Rank One Pension. He announced that ex-servicemen will soon receive the last instalment of arrears.

Modi said the Centre was laying stress on infrastructure development in Himachal Pradesh and that the government has cleared a 30-year railway line expansion project in Una.

During his 45-minute speech, the PM called on people to switch to cashless transactions using the BHIM app. Others who addressed the rally included former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, Union Minister J P Nadda and BJP MP Anurag Thakur.