SHIMLA: State Congress President and Mandi Lok Sabha MP Pratibha Singh urged youth to adopt sports for healthy life and participate actively in development works, saying NO to drugs.

Lauding Khel Utsav organised in Sunni by Himachal Sports Culture and Environment Association as a “commendable feat in this direction”, Pratibha Singh said  the association has put in an all-out effort to make this sports festival a cultural movement setting an example for others.

 As many as  260 women teams and 257 cricket teams in this sports festival of Shimla rural.

Pratibha Singh said that Shimla Rural assembly constituency is moving towards rapid development today.

She gave credit to former Chief Minister Late Virbhadra Singh for this. Now Shimla rural MLA Vikramaditya Singh is carrying forward the work that Virbhadra Singh had started in this constituency with great diligence.

She said  they no longer have Virbhadra Singh but his ideal, his guidance is with them even today. And Vikramaditya Singh is performing this task very well.

Pratibha Singh said she has been entrusted with the important responsibility of Congress President in the state, for which she is grateful to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi. Everyone has to be united to give befitting reply to the BJP in the coming elections.

She said common people in Himachal are troubled by the rising inflation, unemployment in the country. Congress will form a popular government in the state, she claimed.

She called upon women to unite and oust this government from power  as it has failed to control  rising prices and did nothing for employment of lakhs of unemployed youth in the state.

Pratibha Singh said that the BJP government has cheated the unemployed youth a lot. The police recruitment paper leak case is a big scam.

All this has happened with the connivance of the BJP and this is the reason why the government has delayed its investigation and the case is yet to be handed over to the CBI that speaks volumes about intention of the BJP government, she charged.

Pratibha Singh while expressing happiness over  organization of women's tug of war in this sport festival, described it as an important step in upliftment of women towards women empowerment.

Vikramaditya Singh while welcoming the leaders and people present in this function said that their aim is to serve the people and to strengthen mutual interaction. They have to keep away from evil of drugs and have to  promote sports in a big way in Himachal.

Vikramaditya Singh thanked the people present for their huge support to this event. He would soon organize job fair for unemployed youth and women, he added.

Taking a dig at the state BJP government Vikramaditya Singh said that the Jai Ram Thakur government has pushed Himachal into a debt trap of vast dimension worth Rs 70,000 crore.

His government is misleading people as BJP sees its defeat in the coming elections as amply demonstrated by people in recent four by-elections, he claimed. 

Vikramaditya Singh said Chief Minister halted all development works started by late Virbhadra Singh, and  did not do anything for the last four and half years. Now Chief Minister is desperate and making  big announcements to lure people, which will never be fulfilled, he claimed.

Despite being in opposition, he did development works worth Rs 90 crores in Shimla rural and made efforts to carry on the legacy of Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya said.

He said BJP has halted the pace of development works as BJP was resorting to the politics of regionalism. He dared Jairam government to count only five such big works which he had started and completed them in his tenure.

Vikramaditya Singh said that as soon as the Congress government is formed in the state, their old pension will be implemented, keeping in view the interests of the employees.

In cricket, first place was taken by Ghanahatti and second place by Bharara, while in women's Rasaksi, Gadavag took first and Pahal took second place.

Presiding over the concluding function of this sports festival,  Pratibha Singh also distributed prizes to the winners.

Vikramaditya Singh also presented a cash amount of five thousand five thousand to all the participating teams on the occasion.

Rohru MLA Mohanlal Brakta, former MLA Sohan Lal, Chiranji Lal Kashyap, Mahila Congress President Jainab Chandel, Zilla Parishad President Chandra Prabha Negi, Block President Gopal Sharma, Yashwant Chhajta, Ramesh Thakur, Pradeep Sharma, Shyama Devi, Neem Chand Verma, Zilla Parishad members, all councilors of Nagar Panchayat, Principal Up-Pradhan of Gram Panchayats, Ward Members and a large number of women and other people from all Panchayats of Shimla Rural participated in the sports festival.