Shimla: Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday predicted a ‘collapse’ of the Congress government under its own weight soon after the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections, the ruling Congress questioned the opposition party for seeking votes in name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rather its five
year non-performance in the state, and also the Shimla urban body.
Shimla Municipal Corporation is one of the country’s oldest civic bodies formed during the British era when Shimla used to be the summer capital in the colonial rule.
“Go around Shimla, you will find hoardings of Prime Minister Modi. Is he going to build parking, solve the traffic problem of Shimla or ensure 24-hour water supply. Why is the BJP hiding behind Modi’s photos and not telling why it failed to transform Shimla during five-year-rule?” AICC incharge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla asked here.
As the campaign for the 34-member urban civic body House has entered the decisive phase for May 2 elections, the BJP and Congress have pulled all stops to give seriousness to the campaign.
The elections are fought on the party symbols. Thus, the BJP is in direct contest with the ruling Congress which had formed its government in the state four months back after winning the state assembly polls.
There are more than 60 per cent women contesting the polls of which the BJP has fielded 24 — the highest ever number.
Shukla addressed a press conference at the party office promising to restore the glory of Shimla as city of global repute with all modern facilities for the citizens.
Shukla said that the triple engine government of BJP did not bring development in Shimla. Speaking at the conference, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that the BJP has made Shimla a concrete jungle.
“Shimla has lost its pride under BJP rule. Congress will work to bring him back. The Congress government will rid Shimla of the wire mesh,” he said.
He promised taking concrete measures for regularisation of multi-storied buildings, clearance of building plans submitted before 2017 and enforcement of a uniform tax regime for both old and merged areas under the Shimla Municipal Corporation.