Mandi (Himachal Pradesh), Oct 18 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a dig at Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, saying "Do I need to tell you about his identity?", alluding to the corruption charges against him.
Hailing former Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Ministers of the state, Modi said, "Shanta Kumar ji is remembered as 'Paani Wale CM' and Dhumal ji (Prem Kumar Dhumal) as 'Grameen Sadak Wale CM'."
"And we all know about this Chief Minister. What is the identity of the present Chief Minister? Do I have to say this here?" said Modi.
"This is the difference. The BJP CMs dedicated themselves to providing water and roads. But the others who came...what all did they not dedicate to themselves!" he added.
Modi inaugurated three power projects -- Koldam HEP (4x200MW) of NTPC, Parbati HEP Stage-III (4x130MW) of NHPC and Rampur HEP (6x68.67MW) of SJVN -- having the total generation capacity of 1,732MW.
Talking about Koldam hydro power plant, Modi said: "The project was signed with Russia to build Koldam Dam Hydropower Project in 1962 on Satluj river. This project was delayed by successive governments. When Atal ji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) became the Prime Minister, he gave a push to the project."
Modi also described Himachal Pradesh as "Devbhoomi" (land of gods) and "Veerbhoomi" (land of the brave).
"Atal ji hamesha maanate the, ki agar unka koi dusra ghar hai to wo Himachal hai (Atal ji always considered Himachal his second home)," Modi said.