Cong heading towards ‘century of defeats’, says Anurag

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress leadership, Union Minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Singh Thakur on Friday said the Opposition party under Rahul Gandhi was steadily heading towards “a century of defeats”.

He criticised the Congress for questioning the fairness of the Election Commission and the EVMs. “The Congress starts preparing excuses even before the results are declared and creates unnecessary doubts about the democratic process by blaming the EVMs and the Election Commission after every electoral loss,” he said.

Hailing PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, he termed the NDA’s victory in Bihar as a mandate for development-driven governance. He said the people of Bihar have reaffirmed their trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose work in the past years has strengthened public confidence.

Speaking to the media after inaugurating the 63rd Himachal Pradesh State-Level Volleyball Championship in Baddi, Thakur said, “We had already stated that our work will speak for us. The people have shown faith in the Modi–Nitish partnership. Women voters, in particular, turned up in large numbers and supported the government that stands for development.”

Meanwhile, a total of 32 teams are participating in the three-day championship. Addressing players at the volleyball tournament, Thakur said the state championship acted as a catalyst for emerging athletes as its performance leads to selection in camps, trials and the national teams.

He emphasised that the Centre was continuously working to increase investment in sports so that players could receive adequate financial support, enabling a smoother and more professional journey from field to podium.

He highlighted that during his tenure as Union Minister, sports infrastructure was widely expanded across the country.

“Under the Modi Government, the Khelo India Academies and Khelo India Centres were expanded as a national movement. At the moment, there are over 1,100 such centres that are providing apt training and infrastructure for players,” he said.

However, he also expressed concern over the situation of sports in the state. He said, “Despite strenuous efforts to promote sports, there is still a lack of coaches in many disciplines. If the state government fails to appoint them, the Himachal Olympic Association will step forward.

“The association has already decided to appoint coaches for eight major sports. In the first phase, 20 coaches will be appointed. It would be followed by the appointment of 100 more to ensure regular and structured training for the athletes,” he added.

The Hamirpur MP said the state should consider organising ‘Himachal State Games’ on the pattern of national games to identify new talent and strengthen sports environment.

Volleyball Federation of India president Virender Kanwar and HP State Volleyball Association general secretary Madan Rana also attended the inauguration.