Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore on Monday raised objections on the construction of the ruling BJP’s offices at the district level, saying that the party should instead help the people affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Addressing media persons in Shimla, Rathore said BJP national chief JP Nadda will be laying the foundation stones of district unit offices in Covid period when the state government was claiming that they were facing fund crunch.

“Congress wants to ask the party, though it is their internal matter to construct offices, as to from where they are getting money to construct the offices at a time when the state and Centre governments are, as per claims, didn’t have enough funds,” he added.

Rathore said COVID-19 lockdowns had left lakhs of people of the state unemployed while all sectors including small and medium industries had been badly affected.

The state government citing fund crunch had raised charges for electricity and water bills and didn’t provide any relief to the common man or businesses.

But the party seemed to have become so rich that it was constructing lavish offices, he said, adding the BJP should instead have used the money to provide relief to needy people.

He questioned Nadda on the source of funds that will be used for construction of offices in Himachal and said BJP should reveal as to from where they had got funds that it had now become the richest party in the world.

“Only few businessmen and BJP have become richer in the Corona period while common man and businesses are facing cash crunch,” he said.

He accused the BJP of using money power to suppress the voice of opposition and said the democracy and nation was in danger in BJP rule.

The party, as had been rightly pointed out by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, was using communalism and pseudo nationalism to further its interests and gain power in the country which was against democratic norms, he added.

State Congress chief further stated that all constitutional posts and offices were in danger in BJP rule and Congress would fight for saving democracy in the country as it had fought for the freedom of the country in the past.

He also raised questions on paper leak in recruitment of conductors in HRTC and said the state government was playing with the emotions of unemployed youth by failing to take strict steps to curb such malpractices.