All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday appealed to the voters to break their silence in the Lok Sabha election’s last phase.

“If the nation remains silent, it will ensure dictatorship in the future,“ he said while addressing a public meeting in Rohru in the Shimla parliamentary seat. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel accompanied him.

“China has encroached upon land in border regions. However, the PM remained silent,” he said.

“What contribution PM Narendra Modi has made for the people of Himachal. Modi promised to boost the apple economy but instead he decreased the import duty on apples. Virbhadra Singh left no stone unturned for the development of the state,“ said Kharge.

“The Prime Minister is in a habit of lying. First elections he promised ₹15 lakh annually to the women electorate. Modi promised that he would get back the black money from the Swiss banks and accused the Congress leaders of maintaining accounts. Modi promised 2 crore jobs and promised to double the farmers’ income. Everything turned out to be a lie,” he said.

“Modi blames Congress for everything. If you give us an account of the work done by BJP in 15 years, Congress will give you a detailed account of the progressive works it did for the nation in 50 years,” he added.

“He abuses Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress. It shows his fear,” he said.

“Himachal is devbhoomi and Shimla remained the second capital of the country due to its immaculate beauty,” he said emphasising the tourism development in Shimla parliamentary seat. Kharge reminisced about Nehru’s connection with Himachal. “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru addressed his public meeting in Himachal in 1951. I want you all to realise that Congress doesn’t visit the state during election time. Himachal people should vote for the people who propagate special justice,” he added.

Baghel paid rich tributes to Congress stalwart Virbhadra Singh. Baghel was seeking support for Vinod Sultanpuri.

“I have taken lessons from the steady silence maintained by Lok Sabha member Suresh Kashyap. Our MP did not speak when the Union government decreased the import duty on apples from 75% to 50%,” said Congress candidate Vinod Sultanpuri.

Education minister Rohit Thakur said, “Modi visited Mandi and talked about the local cuisines, but he did not talk about any progress.”

Theog MLA Kuldeep Rathore dubbed the BJP government as “anti-farmers and anti-fruit growers. Modi did not fulfil a single promise made during the previous elections”.