BJP state president Dr. Rajeev Bindal said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre has been working to provide relief to the people, the Congress government in Himachal, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has spent the last three years burdening the public.
Bindal, addressing a press conference in Shimla, alleged that the Congress government has imposed as many as 10 different types of cesses, leading to a 40 percent hike in electricity bills.
He pointed out that the state government increased VAT on diesel by Rs 7.50, placing an additional burden of Rs 10,000 crore on the people.
The additional goods tax on cement was raised from Rs 7.50 to Rs 16 per bag, water charges were sharply increased, with rural households forced to pay Rs 100 per month, stamp duty was raised, and hospitals were directed to charge Rs 10 for outpatient slips.
In contrast, he said, the Modi government implemented major reforms in GST that brought relief worth Rs 2 lakh crore to the public.
Praising Prime Minister Modi, Bindal said that “self-reliant India” and “swadeshi” are at the core of his vision.
Drawing a comparison, he noted that in 2014 India had only 1,000 startups, whereas today the number has crossed 1.6 lakh. While 98 percent of mobile phones were earlier imported, now 98 percent are manufactured in India, including the iPhone.
In the defence sector, Bindal highlighted that India’s exports have jumped from Rs 686 crore to Rs 23,622 crore. Under Modi’s leadership, India has become a $7.3 trillion economy, emerging as the fourth largest in the world.
He added that the country has made remarkable progress in areas such as destination weddings, tourism, cultural heritage, yoga, and space sciences.
“This has been possible only because Prime Minister Modi does what he says, and knows how to translate his vision into reality,” Bindal said, asserting that the “Modi magic” continues to resonate across India and abroad.