Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan and Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having failed to assist the state during the monsoon disaster last year.

In a joint statement here on Thursday, they said Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembers Himachal Pradesh only during election periods.

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During his visit to the state instead of demonstrating genuine concern for the state’s issues, he misleads the public by talking about Himachali dishes like ‘Sepu Bari’ and ‘Madra’.

“Had Modi truly cared about Himachal and its people, he would have visited during the last year’s catastrophic rains, the worst in the state’s history, to check on the affected people and offer assistance,” they said, adding that over 550 people lost their lives and more than 22,000 families were impacted by the monsoon fury, however the Prime Minister even did not express condolences to the bereaved families nor did he address the suffering in Himachal Pradesh.

“Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu repeatedly visited Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and Union ministers, demanding a special relief package for Himachal Pradesh. However, the union government did not provide any financial assistance. Instead, the state Congress government rehabilitated these families using its own resources, providing a special relief package of Rs 4500 crore, with no contribution from the Central Government,” they stated.

Slamming the BJP, they claimed that development of Himachal Pradesh was neglected and the people were betrayed by the promise of a ‘double engine’ government.

“In the last Lok Sabha elections, Modi promised to triple the import duty on apples but failed to do so. Instead, the import duty was reduced to 50 percent, causing significant losses for apple growers in Himachal Pradesh. Due to increased imports of foreign apples, local growers are not receiving fair prices and are suffering losses on their CA stored apples,” they said.

They blamed the Central Government for jeopardizing the state’s Rs 5000 crore apple industry, leading to a loss of livelihood for thousands of families involved in apple farming.

“The people of Himachal Pradesh are innocent, Modi’s words will have no impact this time as they will not be deceived by his statements,” they said, claiming that Congress will win all four Lok Sabha seats.