The BJP is practically leaving no stone unturned for turning the tide in its favour for the elections of Shimla Municipal Corporation.
The party has brought in its senior leader cum Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, who has his roots in Himachal Pradesh, all the way from Delhi to campaign for its candidates.
In his tirade against Congress, Nadda is using corruption as weapon. Addressing a gathering in Shimla on Friday, he said that battered with consecutive electoral defeats, Congress high command had got so weak, that it was not in a position to compel Virbhadra Singh to tender his resignation, despite serious allegations of corruption against him.
Defending central government on the issue of Shimla not getting a place in Smart City project, he said that State government’s negligence in pursuing the case cost Shimla a place in the first list of Smart City.
Congress and CPM had made Shimla a jungle of concrete in the name of development and substandard material was used in most of the projects of development in the city.
Dismissing the CPI (M) allegations that BJP colluded with Congress to keep this town out of Smart City race, he said it was negligence of CPI (M) Mayor and Deputy Mayor who could not press the issues to include in the National flagship program.
Nadda said centre remained active to help the people of Shimla in the times of crisis. He said that the government could not contain spread of Jaundice and people lost their lives due to negligence of state government. He said that soon after outbreak of Jaundice in Shimla he had sent a team of Union Health Ministry to review the situation. A team of National Instituted of Virology from Pune was also sent to test the infestation of outbreak, he added.
He said Centre wanted to set up an institute of Virology or centre to study water-borne diseases in Shimla, but the state government did not respond to the proposal of Union Health Ministry and the proposal had still been hanging fire. He said that Union government was committed for the restoration of heritage status of this capital town.
Nadda’s campaigning for Municipal Corporation elections is also being seen as his effort to establish his superiority in the state BJP. As he has been considered a probable Chief Ministerial candidate in the next assembly elections slated to be held at the end of this year. Nadda has remained quite active in Himachal Pradesh in past few months. He already enjoy a good rapport in lower hill areas of the state and his current efforts are being seen as a measure to enlarge room in upper Himachal Pradesh.
