Hamirpur Lok Sabha by-polls due to BJP, says CM

Hamirpur, May 12 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today blamed the BJP for thrusting the Lok Sabha by-polls on the people of the state and said corruption will be the party's main plank in these elections.

''Had BJP's Suresh Chandel not been caught in the 'cash for query'' scam, there was no need of the bye election,'' he told a rally, organised to garner support for the party's nominee Ram Lal Thakur, here.

Mr Singh expressed optimism that the party would win the by-polls as internal dissensions were plaguing the BJP.

''Mr Dhumal's dilemma could be well be understood. If he wins the election, he will have to leave the state politics. And if he loses, his political career will come to an abrupt end,'' he said.

Suresh Chandel and Babu Ram Katara had by their own acts downgraded the Indian polity and the country was ashamed of them, he said.

He said since the issue of human traffic was a serious issue, the BJP leadership should seek an apology from the public.

Claiming that widespread development had taken place in the state during the last fifty-month rule of the party, he said the people of the state would vote for the party, which they knew was their friend.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Viplove Thakur, in her address, called upon the workers to educate the masses and expose the nefarious designs of the BJP.

Speaking on the occasion, Ram Lal Thakur, the Congress' candidate for the Hamirpur seat, thanked the party leadership for fielding him for the Lok Sabha polls.

He also expressed confidence that these elections would be third time lucky for him after losing out two successive Parliament polls to BJP's Suresh Chandel.

UNI