Change in Congress fortunes to begin with Himachal win: Pratibha Singh

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, September 4

Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh today pledged to win the upcoming state Assembly elections and declared that the change in the party’s national fortunes would start from Himachal.

Addressing the Mehngai Pe Halla Bol rally ahead of Rahul Gandhi in the capital’s Ramlila Grounds, Pratibha Singh, in the presence of Rahul, said, “We will win Himachal Pradesh and place it in the lap of Rahul Gandhi. Change in the party’s fortunes will start from Himachal Pradesh. We will ensure the change starts from here and sweeps the country.”

Questions PM

Eight years of your rule have passed. Where are 16 crore jobs, Mr PM? — Pratibha Singh, HPCC Chief

Singh was among few leaders along side Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Bahgel, leaders of Congress in Parliament Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, ex Punjab Congress chief Partap Bajwa and the newly appointed J&K Congress president Vikar Rasul, who was called upon to address the rally where Rahul Gandhi later tore into the ruling BJP for “spreading hate and fear.”

Referring to Rahul’s upcoming Bharat Jodo yatra, Pratibha Singh said the party in Himachal would fully back the mobilization efforts on the ground and articulate the concerns of the people who are reeling under the “twin assaults of price rise and joblessness.”

“We will support you in our respective states. We will raise the voices of the people on the streets and in Parliament. We tried to raise the price rise issue in Parliament but we were not given time,” said the state Congress president

She recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 Lok Sabha poll promises of two crore annual jobs to the youth and asked, “Eight years of your rule have passed. Where are 16 crore jobs, Mr Prime Minister?”

She mentioned the highly priced cooking gas cylinders and said, “Across the board GST rate hikes had broken the backs of the people.”

The Congress is in a do-or-die battle in the hill state which the BJP had won in 2017 bagging 44 seats in the 68-member house and posting a near 10 pc jump in its vote share touching 48.7 pc.

After the BJP won Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, repeating their governments in historic verdicts, the Congress is facing an uphill task of preventing a saffron rerun in Himachal where AAP is playing a spoiler in an otherwise traditionally direct fight between the two parties.

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