SOLAN: Congress leader Priyank Gandhi Vadra invoked former Prime Minister  "Indira Gandhi’s Himachal connect",  striking a chord with the crowd at Solan today,  citing the historic moments when the then Prime Minister had created Himachal. She also invoked legacy of Dr YS Parmar, Thakur Ram Lal and six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who ruled and developed Himachal Pradesh as it was today. 

Addressing her first Congress Parivartan Rally meeting  in Solan today ahead of state assembly elections,  Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said  she built her house in Shimla near Mashobra as Indira Gandhi had wished that when she would retire she wanted to have a house in Mashobra for herself. "We have fulfilled her wish", she added. 

When late Indira Gandhi had come for conferring statehood to Himachal, she had said that she created Himachal   because she recognised courage, grit and potential of people of Himachal, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

"Even some leaders  from  BJP had opposed creation of Himachal Pradesh", Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed. "But she never gave up as she knew potential of people of Himachal Pradesh for development and deciding their destiny", she added.

She gave credit  to people of state- its youth, women, soldiers and farmers -who  built and developed Himachal as it is today.

She urged the people of  Himachal to assess the performance of the BJP government for the last five years. Take the striking employees seeking pension. BJP has "no time to talk to them and no money for them, she claimed.

Take jobless youth of Himachal. Over 63000 government posts are vacant in Himachal and the educated youth are unemployed going from pillar to post in search of jobs, she added. 

The farmers are protesting as they are not getting prices for their crops. But the BJP government did not have time to talk to them and solve their problem, she said.  

On the Contrary,  BJP snatched away livelihoods from small traders by imposing GST in an arbitrary manner, she claimed.

BJP has started the Agniveer policy, but the soldiers would not get  pension  for serving the nation, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

She took a dig at the BJP government, cited the police recruitment constables recruitment scam. This scam hit the jobless youth badly, she claimed. 

BJP was talking about the change of Riwaj, but the fact is that BJP has changed the Riwaj of  development  set up by  Chief Ministers- Dr YS Parmar, Ram Lal Thakur and Virbhadra Singh-  in its current 5 years term. 

She said  one lakh posts  of government jobs are laying vacant in Himachal. In the very first cabinet meeting when the Congress comes to power in Himachal, would take a decision to fill them up in phase, will restore old pension scheme  giving their due to jobless and pensioners.

The Congress would form drug policy to save youth who are falling prey to the drugs in the state, she claimed.

Congress would float the  Rs 680 crore startup fund and youth will get  loans with zero per cent interest rate to start their own venture. "All companies will provide employment to youth of Himachal on priority, she added.

She gave credit to Virbhadra Singh for taking education to  the rural areas. 

Now each woman will get a monthly honorarium of Rs 1500  as an honour to womanhood, she said.

She said the farmers would get prices for their crops. Talking about Solan, the Congress would set up Food Processing Park in Solan to support the farmers, Priyanka said.

She said the OPS has been implemented in Congress ruled states and it would be done in Himachal as well.

Citing the achievements of Congress governments, Priyanka Vadra said Congress set up the Horticulture university in Solan, Palampur, medical colleges in Mandi, Nahan, Chamba, Hamirpur and Shimla, IIT Mandi and Central university.

Talking about the tottering economy of Himachal, she said Himachal  is heavily burdened under debt as the BJP has failed to  save economy due to its wrong policies. 

Priyanka Gandhi had interaction with the Congress workers in the presence of Congress leaders HP P Congress chief Pratibha Singh, chairman of Congress campaign committee Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri,  Kaul Singh Thakur,   Kuldeep Singh Rathaur, Dr Dhani Ram Shandil, Ram Lal Thakur, and other leaders in Solan.

They also addressed the rally saying the people of Himachal had already given their verdict in Kangra, Solan Shimla and Mandi  in the last by-election in which Congress won all the four seats.