Only a united Cong can defeat BJP: Patil

Tribune News Service

Mandi, July 10

State Congress incharge Rajni Patil has urged party workers to put up a united front and gear up to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

She said the Modi government had failed to keep its poll promises. Taking a dig at the party, Patil said: “The BJP is acting like a dictator. Our fight is against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In Maharashtra, there are two centres, from where the sangh carries out its activities.”

Modi had promised the people of ‘Achhe Din’, which the latter could never see.

After coming to power, he had said that he would bring back black money stashed in foreign banks and that Rs 15 lakh would be deposited in the account of every citizen. But that too didn’t happen.

In Kashmir, the situation was going from bad to worse, for which the BJP government was responsible.

Patil said the party was confident of winning all four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu also addressed the party workers and asked senior leader Kaul Singh Thakur to lead the party in Mandi.

Sukhu said no one was above the party, which was determined to defeat the BJP.

Mukesh Agnihotri targeted Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur over the deteriorating law-and-order situation in state. He said the six-month tenure of the BJP was disappointing. There were 100 rape cases and 40 murders. He was pushing the state to financial crisis and targeting government employees to hide his shortcomings.

Senior leader Kaul Singh Thakur said the six-month tenure of the BJP was a complete failure, with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur failing to bring in any development project to Mandi.

He said: “A lot needs to be done to win Mandi seat. Out of 17 Assembly segments in six districts, the party had won only three seats in the last elections. The performance was not up to the mark. The need of the hour is to work at the grassroots level.” Meanwhile, former CM Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh skipped the party meet in Mandi. Virbhadra and Sukhu do not see eye to eye, which perhaps could be the reason behind his absence. The former CM and his wife were invited by senior Congress leader Kaul Singh Thakur. Not only Virbhadra, his loyalists too stayed away.