In Fatehpur, leaders trade charges

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 19

Leaders today traded personal charges against each other while campaigning for the Fatehpur byelection.

Congress candidate Bhawani Singh Pathania alleged that the government had not been able to give jobs to the youth. Even in the private sector, the owners of industries were being threatened against recruiting youths on merit. They were being threatened against recruiting anybody unless recommended by BJP leaders, he alleged.

Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania said HPCC president Kuldeep Rathore is ‘mand budhi’ (mentally-challenged). He was responding to a question by mediapersons regarding Rathore’s allegation that the Congress also carried nationwide vaccination campaigns to eradicate diseases such as polio but did not claim credit for it as the Union government was doing for coronavirus.

Pathania said that coronavirus was a deadlier pandemic and could not be compared with polio virus but Rathore a ‘mand budhi’ was comparing the two vaccination campaigns.

Former BJP MP Rajan Sushant, who is now contesting as an Independent candidate, said that he would do a tit for tat to the ministers in the 2022 Assembly elections who were working against him in the Fatehpur byelection. He was making a reference to Industries Minister Bikram Thakur, who is the BJP in-charge for the Fatehpur byelection.

Bikram Thakur retorted saying that Sushant had grown old and hence making such threats. “I don’t want to comment on his threats and just want to pray that he lives long and continues to make such threats”.

The Congress leaders also alleged that the BJP ministers campaigning in Fatehpur were holding meetings of employees and were threatening them to vote in favour of their candidate or face transfers after the byelection. They said that they would complain to the Election Commission regarding such meetings.

BJP leaders said that the Congress was making baseless allegations and approaching the Election Commission and most of these had been rejected.

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