Making price rise poll issue, Sukhu distributes onions

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 18

The Congress has made rise in prices of essential commodities an election issue. Former HPCC chief Sukhwinder Sukhu distributed onions during his rallies in Dharamsala Assembly constituency today.

Sukhu alleged that the BJP, while in the Opposition, used to take to streets when prices of onions would rise. However, now the prices of onions and other essential commodities had skyrocketed but, now in power, the BJP was not doing anything to check prices of such commodities. Onions had become costlier that apples and inflation was at its peak, he said.

He also flayed the BJP for getting a case registered against a youth from Dharamsala Arpit Chaudhary under the IT Act. He alleged that the youth in the state were frustrated due to rising unemployment. The state government had failed to provide them jobs. When the youth were venting their ire on social media the party was trying to muzzle their voice by getting police cases registered against them.

The BJP had yesterday filed a police complaint against Arpit Chaudhary under the IT Act for allegedly tampering with a post in favour of party candidate, Vishal Nehria. IT cell convenor of BJP Marri Naryal has alleged in the complaint that he had designed a poster of the party candidate and put it on social media. The youth tampered with the poster and allegedly used it for caste-based propaganda. On the complaint of the BJP, the police registered a case under the IT Act against the accused youth.

Sukhu also alleged that the present BJP government had discriminated against Dharamsala, Kangra and other lower areas of Himachal. Dharamsala city had got Smart City project, Tulip garden project, a war museum and various other projects under the Congress government. However, in the last two years most of the projects in Dharamsala have either been shelved or work on these has come to a standstill.

The Congress faction led by Sukhwinder Sukhu, including party MLA from Una, Satpal Raizada and many office bearers of the party, campaigned for the party candidate Vijay Inder Karan in Dharamsala.

Sukhu claimed that former Congress minister Sudhir Sharma would campaign for the party tomorrow. “I have personally talked to Sudhir and he has told me that he would campaign for party tomorrow”, he said.

Meanwhile, Congress candidate Vijay Inder Karan organised booth-evel meetings in and around Dharamsala. While addressing the rallies, Vijay Inder claimed that he was a local and understood the problems of the people of Dharamsala region better than anybody else.