Thaindian News

Mandi (Himachal Pradesh), June 30 (IANS) The BJP government in Himachal Pradesh is indulging in false and misleading propaganda that the central government is discriminating against the state, union minister Anand Sharma said Saturday.

Addressing a Congress party’s public rally here, Sharma said the state was surviving merely on central grants and there was regular increase in the allocation of funds.

“The chief minister (Prem Kumar Dhumal) and his cabinet colleagues are indulging in false and misleading propaganda,” the union commerce and industry minister said, slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state government.

Criticising social activist Anna Hazare and his team, Sharma, who belongs to the hill state, said they projected themselves to be the leader of 120 crore people of India and are trying to supersede the elected members of parliament and trying to create anarchy in the country.

“It’s agonising that these extra-constitutional forces are trying even to tarnish the clean image of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” he said.

Describing the state BJP government as the most corrupt government in the country, state party president Kaul Singh said the mushroom growth of private universities in a small state like Himachal “is a big scam”.

“Some rich people belonging to other states are grabbing prime pieces of land with an ulterior motive of converting these (universities) later into housing estates,” he said.

Leader of Opposition Vidya Stokes said the BJP legislators and members of parliament are openly levelling charges of corruption against their own government. “We have hardly left anything to say.”

Interestingly, former union minister Virbhadra Singh, who was also invited for the rally held in his parliamentary constituency, was conspicuous by his absence.

The Congress has been holding public rallies as elections to the 68-seat assembly are due in October this year.