Jairam Thakur says 'BJP on lines of Uttarakhand will retain power in Himachal'

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 4 : Attacking Congress ahead of state Assembly polls, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Friday said the grand old party has vanished and its farewell song is buzzing across the country.
Addressing a public meeting at Jalog, Thakur said Congress is on the verge of extinction.
He said, "Everything has a phase. There was a time that passed. I am talking about the Congress party. They have vanished from the country. There is no meaning in finding them whose existence has ended in the nation. Their national leaders are on bail. Elections were held in Uttar Pradesh. They are left with just two seats. The sound of farewell is buzzing across the country."
Referring to the recently held five state elections, Thakur said, "There were elections in five states and they were saying that they will come to power. When the results came, Channi Ji (Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi) lost both the seats he contested. Congress had just one state and that too went out of their hands. We were in the four states and we regained power in all four of them."
He said that the BJP would break the tradition of changing the government of the ruling party every five years (in Himachal Pradesh).
"They (Congress) say that in Himachal, the government is changed every five years. The same thing used to happen in Uttrakhand, but the tradition has changed. We will also end this tradition in Himachal this time and again BJP government will come to power in Himachal Pradesh," Thakur emphasised.
The Chief Minister was on a visit to Shimla Rural Assembly constituency where he inaugurated development projects worth Rs 14 crore. He announced the opening of a government degree college at Jalog. Thakur also announced a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) office in Sunni.
"For better arrangements of the ground in Karyali, if our proposal is passed under Khelo India then it can be made into a great place for sports. The provision for funds for the construction of the temple at Gram Panchayat Ogli would be made," he said.
Thakur also assured people to fulfil various developmental demands in the area.
"We will open a degree college at Jalog. I want to congratulate people as developmental projects worth Rs 14 crore have been inaugurated at Jalog in Shimla Grameen Constituency," he said.
Thakur took a dig at Congress and said, "The MLA of the region has represented the state as a Chief Minister. But what I am seeing is that despite being the chief minister, nothing was done for the region. People are asking for roads and drinking water."
Notably, Shimla Assembly Constituency has been represented by Congress for decades. Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was an MLA from the seat. Currently, the constituency is represented by Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh.
Thakur further said, "Before here, I went to Rampur. They audaciously say that they have been in power so long. But, staying for long does not matter. The thing that matter is the contribution to the development. The situation of Rampur and Shimla Rural is the same."
Pertinent to mention, the Rampur Assembly constituency has been dominated by the Congress party.
The assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh are slated for later this year.