Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India] September 7 : Himachal Pradesh BJP president Rajeev Bindal on Monday announced a month-long ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ across the state from September 17 to October 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public service, with the party targeting outreach to 80,000 households through a ‘Diya of Blessings’ programme.
Addressing reporters in Shimla, Bindal said the campaign would take the message of 'Seva and Sankalp' to households across Himachal Pradesh through programmes organised at Mandal, Gram Kendra and polling booth levels.
The campaign will begin on September 17, the Prime Minister’s birthday, with the lighting of 'diyas' in 80,000 homes across nearly 8,000 polling booths in the state.
“At 7 pm on September 17, we have set a target of lighting diyas in 80,000 homes across 8,000 polling booths. At every polling booth, 100 households will light diyas, bless Prime Minister Narendra Modi and take a pledge to make India a developed nation by 2047,” Bindal said.
He said BJP workers would personally visit households, interact with families and discuss the changes brought about under Modi’s leadership.
“While lighting the diya, people will bless Modi ji and take the Sankalp of Viksit Bharat 2047. Our worker will personally go to the household, sit with the family, hold a discussion and address their questions,” he said.
The BJP would also organise blood donation camps across Himachal Pradesh from September 17 to 20 under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
“The target is to utilise 100 per cent of the available capacity of blood banks in Himachal Pradesh,” Bindal said.
Painting competitions and debates for schoolchildren on the vision of a developed India will also be organised, while Anganwadi workers will be honoured during the campaign.
Bindal said BJP units at the Mandal, Gram Kendra and polling booth levels would undertake 25 different forms of service to symbolise 25 years of Modi’s public service.
The activities will include cleanliness drives, drug de-addiction campaigns, educational assistance for children, medical camps, service at orphanages, assistance to underprivileged people and persons with disabilities, and water conservation and cleaning activities.
A ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ will also be organised during the concluding phase of the campaign under the leadership of the BJYM, with youth carrying torches from different areas and converging at district headquarters to take a pledge to build a developed India by 2047.
Bindal said the campaign would also highlight what he described as achievements of the Modi government in poverty alleviation, social welfare and economic development.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a leader who transformed power into service. He dedicated himself to the service of the poor, farmers, youth, women and the common man,” Bindal told ANI.
Referring to welfare schemes, he said, “Around four crore poor families have been provided pucca houses, 11 crore toilets have been constructed, 13 crore people have received tap water connections, and around 50 crore people have received health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat.”
He also referred to PM-KISAN payments to farmers and free foodgrains being provided to poor people, claiming that around 25 crore people had been brought out of poverty.
Comparing the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014 with the Modi government since 2014, Bindal said the former had been associated with allegations of scams, while the latter had promoted transparency through Digital India and Direct Benefit Transfer.
“Earlier, it was said that out of every rupee, only 15 paise reached the beneficiary. Today, with the push of a button, thousands of crores of rupees are transferred directly into farmers’ accounts. India has also created one of the world’s largest digital payment networks,” he said.
Bindal also highlighted infrastructure development in Himachal Pradesh, citing the Atal Tunnel Rohtang, tunnels, bridges and highways as examples of development carried out with the support of the Centre.
The BJP president, however, launched a sharp attack on the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh over its financial management and the condition of government schools.
Reacting to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s stated vision of making Himachal a prosperous and self-reliant state by 2032, Bindal questioned whether the state’s financial condition supported that goal.
“It is a good thing if the Chief Minister wants Himachal to become prosperous and self-reliant. But recent reports have exposed the financial management of the present government. There is fiscal mismanagement, financial impropriety and financial mismanagement. Is this the path on which Himachal will become self-reliant?” he asked.
Bindal alleged that the state’s debt burden had increased substantially and accused the government of failing to maintain fiscal discipline.
On education, he claimed that around 3,000 government schools were functioning with a single teacher and around 150 schools had no teacher.
“These are the children on whose shoulders we want to build the future of Himachal. In some schools, one teacher is teaching five classes. Around 150 schools do not have even a single teacher. This is the situation when around 2,000 schools have already been closed,” he said.
He also alleged that government-school students were losing previously available benefits, claiming that transport concessions had been curtailed while fees, registration charges and late fees had been increased.
“If there is no teacher in the school, no proper building, no toilet, no drinking water, no facility for preparing mid-day meals, higher fees, transport expenses and no uniform, the child will leave the government school. This appears to be the direction in which the government wants to push these schools,” Bindal alleged.
He further criticised the government’s approach to introducing CBSE affiliation and English-medium education in government schools, alleging that teachers had not received adequate training.
“Teachers have not been given proper English-language or teaching training. These experiments are being carried out on innocent children, putting their future at risk,” he said.
On the BJP’s agitation against the state government, Bindal said the party had already organised demonstrations at 171 locations during July over issues including damaged roads, closed schools, closed Primary Health Centres and shortages of doctors and diagnostic facilities.
He said the BJP would now organise protests at around 200 locations every month on local issues.
“There are 111 Mandals, and apart from these, protests will be organised at other important locations as well. The BJP is capable of raising its voice against the government’s wrong policies and will continue to do so,” Bindal said.