Unleashing a stinging attack on Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur, All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Alka Lamba on Friday called him “Godsewadi” and “goli maro sloganeer”.

A “Godsewadi” leader who raised “goli maro” slogan and are real “Bharat todne wale” has no right to comment on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Lamba, who is the media in-charge for the Himachal assembly elections, said at a press conference in Una.

“Instead of bothering about Congress, he (Anurag) should answer as to why there were 10 lakh jobless youth in Himachal when the BJP is in power at the Centre and the state and he a Union minister,” said Lamba.

She claimed that the people of the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency of which Una is a part had elected Anurag as their MP and he only gave inflation, unemployment and contractual schemes like Agnipath in return.

Anurag is an absolute failure as the sports minister and has no achievement to list, she said, adding that Himachal minister Mahender Singh Thakur had shown the Union minister the mirror during a recent rally.

Lamba alleged that Thakur had promised a railway line from Una to Hamirpur and the budget allocated for it was just ₹1,000. “Wasn’t it a cruel joke with the people of the state?” she said.

He should also answer as to why people whose land was acquired for various projects weren’t given four-time compensation as provided in the Land Acquisition Act of 2013.

“Congress is standing by the people of the state in their fight for the rightful compensation,” she said, adding that Thakur should learn something from his party MP Varun Gandhi who has questioned the central government for writing off loans worth ₹10 lakh crores of capitalist friends.

Lamba said recently Union minister Smriti Irani and now BJP leader Minakshi Lekhi were visiting the state but didn’t speak a word on inflation and rising prices. She said 1.35 lakh beneficiaries of the Ujjawala scheme have not refilled their LPG cylinders due to high prices but BJP leaders don’t want to talk about it.

Accusing the government of misusing CBI and ED, Lamba said nothing will work in Himachal and Congress will make the government with a thumping majority.

Cornering the state government over the question paper leak scam, Lamba said BJP should now be renamed as “Bechte Jao Paper” party.

CM pressuring opposition MLAs: Agnihotri

Meanwhile, addressing the press conference, Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri alleged that it was for the first time that a chief minister was calling and pressuring the opposition MLAs to join his party.

He said many Congress MLAs have told him that they got calls from the chief minister’s office. “Had this government carried out some works in five years, the chief minister would not have needed to call opposition MLAs like this,” said Agnihotri.

The Congress leader claimed that the BJP has foreseen its defeat and was resorting to threatening the opposition.

“However, none of their tactics work and Congress is going to form the government,” said Agnihotri.

Photo: AICC spokesperson Alka Lamba accompanied by Leader of Opposition in Himachal Mukesh Agnihotri addressing a press conference in Una.