It’ll be ‘jamanati’ vs ‘mehnati’, says Patra

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 25

Accusing the Congress of encouraging dynastic politics, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra today said the list of Congress candidates was full of father-son, father-daughter candidates and the forthcoming elections in Himachal would be fought between ‘jamanati and mehnati’ (Hardworking families of BJP and Congress families on bail).

Referring to star campaigners of Congress former Uttarakhand and Haryana Chief Ministers, Harish Rawat and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, he said that these defeated and corrupt leaders would not be helpful to Virbhadra Singh in accomplishing “mission repeat”. However, they can give him tips on corruption.

Patra also questioned the assets of Vikramaditya Singh, son of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, which had increased enormously from Rs 1.9 crores to Rs 84 crores in five years and drew a parallel between the “Vadra model of development in Haryana” and “Vikramaditya model of development in Himachal”.

“The people of the state want to know the journey of Vikramaditya from dependent to independent to rich” as the development model of Virbhadra Singh has only benefited his son and not the state, he said while addressing the media persons here today.

Patra also raised questions over the unsecured loan of Rs 1.24 crores taken by Vikramaditya Singh from Vakamulla Chandershekhar and the relation of “friends for benefit” between the two families besides the properties of the Chief Minister, his wife and the son, attached by Enforcement Directorate in corruption cases.

Taking a dig at the Chief Minister for his 6.5 crore insurance policies, he said the Chief Minister’s family does not need insurance. It is the people of the state who need to be insured under corrupt Congress rule.

Beats hasty retreat

• BJP’s double standards on dynastic rule and graft were evident when Patra said that dynastic rule is when a person enters politics from cradle. The sons and daughters in BJP, he said, are due to their merit
• Patra was on back foot when asked about induction of Sukh Ram, convicted for corruption, and his family in the BJP 
• The only sentence he spoke between the volley of questions was BJP has zero tolerance for corruption and made a hasty retreat to escape questions on BJP’s ‘double standards’ on corruption and dynastic rule