Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh a “talabaaz sarkar” for shutting down the staff selection commission and several offices set up by the BJP government that preceded it.

Addressing the Vijay Sankalp rally at Nahan’s Chaugan Ground while campaigning for Shimla BJP candidate Suresh Kashyap, the PM said: “On one side is Modi’s guarantee and on the other tall promises of the Congress. The Congress government promised one lakh jobs at its first cabinet meeting, but this ‘talabaaz sarkar (one that believes in locking everything)’ can’t offer jobs. Naukraiyan nahin de sakti (This government can’t open job avenues).”

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In February last year, the Sukhu government disbanded the HPSSC after a paper leak was detected in December 2022. In October 2023, the state government notified the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog (HPRCA) would replace the Hamirpur-based HPSSC.

Strikes chord with Nahan

Modi accused the Congress government of reversing developmental works and prioritising political vendetta over public welfare. He highlighted that these closures had negatively impacted the state’s growth.

Striking a chord by donning the traditional Himachal lohiya (cap) and recalling his old association with the hill state, Modi said: “Neither Nahan nor Sirmaur is new for me but I have to say that today’s atmosphere is new as I’ve never seen such a historic rally in Nahan. I’ve come here to seek your blessings for a third term of the BJP, not for myself or my family but for a developed nation and developed Himachal.”

The Prime Minister said the people of Himachal Pradesh live along the border and know the value of a strong nation. “I assure you that I won’t let any harm come to you,” he said.

Guns for Congress on OROP

Modi targeted the Congress for not accepting the demand for One Rank One Pension (OROP). He said the Congress did not accept the demand for OROP for 40 years but after he declared at a rally of ex-servicemen in Jhajjar in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls that the BJP would implement it, the Congress insulted the veterans by earmarking just ₹500 crore for the scheme.

“The Congress opposed the Ram temple and teased us with slogans like ‘Mandir wahin banaenge, tareekh nahin bataenge’. We not only declared the date but also performed the pran pratishtha (of the Ram temple) and the Congress boycotted it to appease its vote bank,” he said, claiming that an aide of a top Congress leader has said that a conspiracy is being hatched to put a lock on the Ram temple in Ayodhya and shift Ram Lalla to a tent again if the party wins the Lok Sabha elections.

Modi alleged that a conspiracy is being hatched to snatch the reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs and give it to Muslims. The Congress has already done it in Karnataka, he said, adding that the high court in Kolkata had quashed OBC certificates conferred on 77 classes of Muslims to please the vote bank but West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is not honouring the court order.

The high court on Wednesday struck down as illegal the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, observing that the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the list of backward categories was to “treat them as vote bank”.

There are poor people in upper castes as well, Modi said.

He said his government has provided 10% quota for the upper caste poor but did not snatch it from any other caste.