HAMIRPUR: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the Congress high command will take a final call on the party's candidates for all the four Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Speaking to media persons here during his visit to the district, Sukhu said the Congress was ready to upset the apple cart of the BJP government in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on the analogy of the last assembly elections.
The chief minister also hinted that the Himachal Pradesh cabinet could see an expansion after the declaration of the results of the assembly polls in five states.
He added that the decision on cabinet expansion would be taken as per the instructions of the Congress high command.
Hitting out at Union minister Anurag Thakur for claiming that the state government was creating obstacles in the rail project between Hamirpur and Una, Sukhu asked him to travel to Hamirpur from Una by rail before making false claims.
Responding to the the BJP leader's allegation that there was delay in construction of the Hamirpur Medical College, he said the college was set during the Congress regime but no concrete progress took place during Thakur's tenure as MP.
and all the financial management has also been done by it.
Speaking earlier during a function at the Gandhi Chowk here, Sukhu reiterated that despite facing financial constraints, the state government would provide all kinds of facilities and help to people in need.
He said it was a matter of shock and pain that the Central government had failed to provide any relief to the flood-affected people of Himachal Pradesh despite claiming that huge funds had been diverted to the state accounts.
Sukhu said that such claims made by the state BJP leaders were also false and hollow.
He appealed to the people not to believe the claims of the BJP leaders and have faith in the state government's policies and programmes.
On this occasion, the chief minister distributed relief worth several crores of rupees to the people of Hamirpur.
He also gave eligibility certificates to the beneficiary children of the 'Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashraya Yojana'.
In Hamirpur district, 252 orphan children and youth were given the status of the 'Children of State' and were given the benefit of the 'Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashraya Yojana'.
These include 105 children up to 18 years of age and 147 youths between 18 and 27 years of age.
The chief minister also distributed Rs 3 lakh each as the first installment of relief amount to the families hit by rain-related incidents.
The houses of 122 families in Hamirpur district were completely destroyed during this monsoon.
For the repair of 555 partially damaged houses in the district, Rs 1 lakh was deposited in the bank accounts of the affected people.
The owners of eight shops and dhabas were also given Rs 1 lakh each.
Sukhu also said the state government was all set to provide thirty per cent reservation to women for recruitment to the police force as commandos.
He said Hamirpur was ignored during the term of the previous BJP government but now efforts are underway to make the district a major development hub in the coming years under the Congress regime.
Sukhu said that with the Lok Sabha elections approaching, the opposition has started raising false accusations against the Congress and its leaders but the people knew the truth.
He announced a grant of Rs 2 crore for preparing a plan to build a new bus stand here, adding that the entire terminus would likely cost hundreds of crores.
The chief minister also announced a grant of Rs 20 crore for installing underground power linesin Hamirpur town within one year, for which, he said, instructions have been issued to the power board authorities.
