Cong govt claims it has no funds, yet spends lavishly on publicity event: Himachal BJP chief

Shimla, Dec 10 (PTI) The president of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the BJP, Rajeev Bindal, on Wednesday slammed the ruling Congress for holding a "lavish" celebration using taxpayers money to mark the completion of three years in government while claiming to have no funds.

The Congress-led state government cannot shun responsibility for its "mismanagement" of public money and its role in the state's debt, Bindal said, decrying the celebration being held in Mandi to "whitewash" its image.

Bindal, in a statement issued, said that while the state government claims to have no funds, it is lavishly spending the hard earned money of the taxpayers on a "publicity" event.

He said that the state government cannot escape from its responsibility for its mismanagement and the state's debt.

"Every section of the state has been suffering for the past three years. Unemployed youth, government employees, outsourced workers, contract workers and even retirees are protesting against the government for their rights," the state BJP chief said.

In just three years, the state government has taken new loans of Rs 40,000 crore, pushing the total debt on the state past Rs 1 lakh crore, he said.

"First the government called it a celebration, but when the people started to raise questions, the government renamed it 'resolution'. Changing the name doesn't change the failures of the past three years. This 'resolution' is nothing but an attempt to cover up the state government's failures over the past three years.

"What is the point of celebration when the state government hasn't done any work, nor has it fulfilled any of its promises and has cheated the people of the state every now and then" Bindal said.

He said people will no longer be "misled" by the government's false promises and will "give a strong reaction" to Congress in the next elections. PTI COR SKY SKY