Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday appealed to the voters to vote for his party, claiming if the Narendra Modi led-BJP government returned to power, all the welfare measures the state government initiated would be stalled.

Baghel, who is also the Pradesh Congress president, addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan, the party’s state headquarters here, accused the Modi government of being anti-poor and anti farmers. He urged the people of the state to think wisely before voting.

For the all round development of the state a Congress government should be at the helm both at the Centre and the state, he added exhorting the voters to vote for Congress candidates.

He claimed Modi government’s anti-Chhattisgarh stand was visible even in the past when the Centre had prevented the erstwhile Raman Singh-led BJP government from providing bonus on paddy procurement.

“When the state government hiked the support price of paddy in the state and demanded of the Modi government to increase the central pool of rice, it categorically refused to do so,” Baghel alleged.

Baghel also criticised Modi government for changing policy on allocation of coal blocks. Instead of auctioning them the Centre made allotments of coal deposits, he said.

Alleging step motherly attitude of the Centre towards the state, Baghel further said that as against earlier 42 coal deposits only 14 were re-allotted to Chhattisgarh government. This was injustice to the state which led to a huge revenue loss, he said adding that otherwise the state populace would have been prospered with this earning.

He also criticised the Modi government’s land acquisition policy. Due to strong opposition from the UPA, the Modi government though failed to amend the land acquisition law, it instructed the BJP-ruled state not to implement the existing law, he alleged.

Baghel also alleged that due to the Centre’s apathy towards the UPA’s flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA), people lost faith in it as the government stopped paying remunerations to those working as labourers.

He also hit out at former Chief Minister Raman Singh for his jibe of ‘Chhota Aadmi’ at his successor. “He (Raman) had worked with his big corporate friends and I am a son of farmer who works for the poor and farmers of the state,” he said, “So, how can I compare myself with him.”