The strength of democracy is manpower, not money power: Sukhu

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu today campaigned for Congress party candidate Anuradha Rana and party candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency Vikramaditya Singh in Udaipur in Lahaul-Spiti district and appealed to the voters to make the Congress party victorious with a huge majority.
Addressing an election rally, the Chief Minister said that former MLA Ravi Thakur has imposed the burden of the by-election on the people of Lahaul-Spiti because he betrayed the Congress party and sold his faith in the political market of BJP. He said that more than the respect of the Congress party, he got buried under the burden of the stuff kept in the BJP’s briefcase and crossed all limits of shamelessness. He said that when some fellow Congress MLAs went to ask him the reason for cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, Ravi Thakur instigated those Congress MLAs to join BJP and said that BJP is giving Rs 15 crore each, take it. .
Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that the Congress government fulfilled every demand of former MLA Ravi Thakur. The first Himachal Day after independence was celebrated in Spiti Valley after he became the Chief Minister and the scheme of giving Rs 1500 per month to the women of Spiti was also started from here. From May 1, 2023, all the women of Spiti Valley started getting a pension of Rs 1500 and from February 1, 2024, women of the entire district were brought under the ambit of this scheme. He said that the women of Lahaul Spiti district have started getting pension and money has started coming into their accounts. He said that Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur’s mathematics was weak and his efforts to topple the government for a month failed.
The Chief Minister said that the Congress Party has given ticket to Anuradha Rana as an honest candidate from Lahaul Spiti and the voters of the area should make her successful. He said that voters should not waste their vote by voting for the independent candidate because Anuradha’s victory is certain from Lahaul-Spiti. He said that for the first time in the history of the country, independent candidates are protesting to get their resignation accepted. He said that the strength of democracy is manpower, not money power. This election is not an election to save the government but to answer the politics of lies and horse trading. He said that there is no threat to the present Congress government and the present Congress government will complete the remaining term of its three and a half years.
Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that Jai Ram Thakur is repeatedly going to the Election Commission to stop the pension of Rs 1500 for women, whereas BJP had left the promise of giving Rs 15 lakh. He said that in the Jai Ram government, only 20 thousand people got government employment in five years, whereas the present Congress government has started the process of providing 22,000 government jobs in one year itself. He said that the present government has earned additional revenue of Rs 2200 crore by closing the backdoors of corruption. The present government gave OPS to government employees, gave four percent DA, increased the diet money of police personnel, gave minimum support price to milk, increased the daily wage and made schemes for the welfare of every section. He said that during the disaster that struck Himachal Pradesh last year, the state government did not allow any farmer or gardener to suffer loss and increased the compensation to the disaster affected manifold so that they could be rehabilitated. He said that the Chief Minister, coming from a common family, understands the pain of the people very well.
Before this, the Chief Minister also paid obeisance at Trilokinath temple.
On this occasion, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur, MLA Bhuvneshwar Gaur, Congress candidate from Lahaul Spiti Anuradha Rana and party officials were present.