Gadkari attacks Congress over ‘garibi hatao’ slogan at Himachal rally

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday accused the Congress of repeatedly promising to end poverty as a route to power, while only its own members and “the family” had prospered.

The senior BJP leader was speaking at Sangla in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, at a meeting for Ram Swaroop Sharma, the party’s candidate for Mandi.

Charge against Congress

Gadkari said the country had seen unprecedented development during five years of BJP rule. He argued that people still lived in poverty and lacked basic facilities 72 years on, and blamed what he called the wrong policies and lack of vision of Congress governments from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi, saying India was a rich country with poor people.

Promises for Himachal

Praising the state’s tourism potential, the minister said tourism had grown over the past five years because the Centre had improved roads in Himachal. He said industry and agriculture needed a stronger push to create jobs. Among the points he made:

• Small farmers would receive Rs 6,000 a year directly in their bank accounts, and the first instalment of Rs 2,000 had already been paid.
• Some 69 roads had been declared national highways at a cost of Rs 50,000 crore.
• Three main roads of Himachal had been included in the Bharat Mala project, and work would begin on about 600 km of highway.
• He said he had shown Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur a model of a sky bus transport system, for which a detailed project report was being prepared.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Sabha members.

Originally published on 2 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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