Himachal Pradesh: BJP alleges discrepancies in Congress Hamirpur candidate's affidavit

Una (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 29 (ANI): Ahead of the voting in Himachal Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Satpal Singh Satti has alleged 'discrepancies' in the poll affidavit of Congress party's Hamirpur candidate Satpal Raizada, and demanded a probe into his loan waiver.
Satti has claimed that the Congress leader's assets increased from Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore between 2022 to 2024, while his loan amount came down to zero.
The BJP leader alleged that there has been a "loan scam" under Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the Kangra Bank is also involved in this.
Addressing a press conference, Satpal Singh Satti said, "In 2022, when Satpal Raizada contested assembly elections, he said that he has a loan of over Rs 5 crores. On December 5, 2023, his entire loan amount was zero. In his 2024 election affidavit, he mentioned the loan amount as zero."
"I realised that he lied when he said that he had repaid the loan by taking money from his friends and selling property. His 2022 election affidavit stated his property was worth Rs 10 crores. In 2024, the affidavit stated his property amount as Rs 15 crore. While the amount increased, he said that his assets were lesser now," Satti added.
Satpal Raizada is pitted against Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who is aiming to win the seat for the fourth time.
Attacking the Sukhu government further, Satti asked how the assets increased by 1.5 times within two years and how his loan got waived suddenly.
"Kangra Bank has waived his loan and this is a huge scam of public money. I would like a clarification from the CM and MP candidate from Una on this. How did his assets grow so much between 2022 to 2024? And why all his loans were waived off on December 5. I would also want to ask the Kangra Bank," the BJP leader further said.
"This is a loan scam by CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Congress candidate Raizada and the MD of Kangra Bank all are involved. Will Congress file a case against its leader who filed a wrong affidavit?" he added.
The voting for all four seats in Himachal will be done in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1.
In the 2019 elections, BJP won all four seats in the state. (ANI)