"BJP did not give money during disaster, used it to buy MLAs:" Himachal CM Sukhu

Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 20 : Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while addressing an election rally in Devidehra of Dalhousie Assembly constituency in Chamba district, targeted the BJP and alleged that the saffron party did not give money to Himachal Pradesh during the time of the disaster, but spent crores of rupees to buy six Congress and three independent MLAs.
"On the lines of Bhuj and Uttarakhand, Himachal should also have got a special relief package. Many facts regarding how many crores of rupees have been given by the BJP to nine MLAs have come to the government during the police investigation. Soon, the faces of many masked people will be exposed," Sukhu said.
Claiming that the entire Bharatiya Janata Party continued doing politics during the disaster, Sukhu said, "The Prime Minister, Home Minister as well as the BJP MPs did not stand with the disaster-affected people. Not a single rupee was given to Himachal in the name of relief, even though 551 people had died and 22 thousand families were rendered homeless."
He added further, "A special relief package was sought after meeting the Prime Minister, Home Minister and central leaders, but no one was pleased. BJP MLAs from Himachal opposed the proposal to declare a national disaster in the Assembly."
Lauding his government, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said that the state government had rehabilitated the affected families by giving a package of Rs 4500 crore. "... The public has seen the real face of BJP during the disaster. Mothers, sisters and employees of Himachal Pradesh have also recognized the behaviour, face and character of BJP, because BJP did the work of stopping the pension of Rs 1500 for women above 18 years of age during the Lok Sabha elections," Sukhu said.
Sukhu in his speech also said that women whose pension has been stopped by BJP, will get Rs 3000. "Despite this, every woman in Lahaul Spiti has received pension. 2.37 lakh women used to take monthly social security pension of Rs 1150, now they have started getting Rs 1500. Those women whose pension has been stopped by BJP, will also get Rs 3000 for April and May after June 6," he said.
The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister also urged the people to vote for Congress candidate Anand Sharma, who has been fielded from the Kangra parliamentary constituency against BJP's Rajeev Bharadwaj and said, "Anand Sharma has contributed a lot in the development of Kangra and Chamba. While being a minister at the Centre, he has brought big institutions in the entire Himachal Pradesh. Therefore, elect him and send him to Parliament, he will become the voice of Himachal and will write a new story of development along with stopping the Agniveer scheme."
Meanwhile, the Himachal CM also took to his official X handle and posted about the election rally in Dalhousie. He said, "A person from a common family has to face many challenges when he becomes the Chief Minister. I have solved many important problems of the people during my tenure of 15 months without any demand. Today some people want to usurp the Chief Minister's chair on the basis of money. But the public will definitely teach them a lesson."
Notably, Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats: Hamirpur, Mandi, Shimla, and Kangra. The BJP had won all four seats in 2019.
Assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs will be held on June 1.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases running from April 19 to June 1. The counting and results will be declared on June 4.