The Congress is contesting Himachal Pradesh polls under a "collective leadership" and does not announce a chief ministerial candidate before the election when it does not have an incumbent CM, party's senior observer Bhupesh Baghel said on Sunday dismissing the BJP's criticism over "infighting".
The Chhattisgarh chief minister also said politics in the state will be run by leaders of the state, following speculation that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could take up a prominent role if the party wins the November 12 election.
Lashing out at the BJP, Baghel accused it of dashing the people's hopes by failing to deliver on promises made in 2017 and urged the people of the hill state to elect their "own government" by supporting the Congress.
In an interview to PTI, Baghel alleged the 'double engine' government of the BJP was a "troubled engine" due to which the people of Himachal are facing "a slew of difficulties" which "the Congress can end."
Asked about resource mobilisation to implement the lofty promises in the Congress manifesto including one lakh jobs, Rs 1500 for adult women, Rs 680 crore Start Up fund, he said, "We will ensure financial discipline and mobilise resources by increasing people's purchasing power. Once their power to purchase increases, state exchequer will naturally expand as we will earn more in taxes."
Baghel said the Congress will "put back on people's plates all that the BJP has taken away by way of GST."
"We are talking of raising the income of the people as their lives have become difficult due to inflation which is sapping their finances. The BJP-led Centre is fuelling the price rise and Congress, if elected, will empower the people financially. We have done this in Chhattisgarh and will do it in Himachal Pradesh," he told PTI.
Noting that inflationary trends in Himachal were accompanied by a rise in unemployment, Baghel, in a swipe at the ruling BJP, said, "This is not a double engine government but a troubled engine one."
Asked about the role of Congress general secretary Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is spearheading the election campaign in Himachal, Baghel replied, "Priyanka Gandhi is a national leader. The politics of the state will be run by leaders of the state.
"She will continue to discharge her national responsibilities and is in Himachal because she shares a special bond with the people of the state," he said.
On the BJP's criticism that the Congress was a party of many CM-aspirants in Himachal, Baghel said every political party formulates its strategy in states based on its own goals and wherever the Congress is in the Opposition, it contests elections under collective leadership.
"We have declared a CM candidate at very few places. Where ever there is a sitting chief minister, he is the leader. The BJP does the same. Why are they raising questions," asked Baghel.
He also asked whether the BJP had a CM face in Uttar Pradesh when they contested the 2017 election or in other states where they were in the Opposition.
"In Chhattisgarh also, the BJP is saying there is no CM candidate. They claim to contest elections on PM Narendra Modi's face," Bhupesh Baghel reasoned amid BJP charges of Congress infighting.
Addressing rallies in Himachal on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged that the Congress was mired in infighting and factionalism, and can never provide stability and development in the hill state.
The Chhattisgarh CM launched a blistering attack on the BJP for scrapping the Old Pension Scheme which entailed guaranteed payouts to government retirees and replacing it with the National Pension Scheme.
"The BJP has even snatched people's support for their old age by refusing to restore the Old Pension Scheme. The Congress governments in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have already announced the restoration of OPS and are engaged with the Centre on ways to do it," he said.
He promised the restoration of OPS in Himachal where nearly 1.5 lakh government employees are enrolled under the NPS that involves specified amounts of deposits per month by the state government and the employee concerned to create a retirement corpus out of which the retiree can only withdraw 60 pc as a tax-free lump sum and must convert the rest into pension income for lifetime.
The veteran Congressman urged the people of Himachal to form the Congress government. "By doing so they will be forming their own government, the government of youth, women, labourers, farmers, and employees," Baghel said.
He also accused the BJP government in Himachal Pradesh of repeatedly taking loans and said "Congress governments have not taken loans."
"We have maintained financial discipline in Chhattisgarh also and are within the limits set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act," he said.
