Almora: Taking on BJP on corruption issue, Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said the party was forced to change its Chief Minister in Uttarakhand following graft allegations and accused it of "creating a wedge" between the hills and the plains.

"The BJP is responsible for widespread corruption in every nook and corner of the state. It was due to corruption that BJP was forced to change its Chief Minister," the Congress President said in her second election rally in the hill state in the run-up to the January 30 Assembly polls.

Chief Minister B S Khanduri took over as Chief Minister from Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in September last year in an apparent move by BJP to lift its sagging image following graft allegations against the government.

"...Through its discriminatory policies, the BJP government is creating a wedge between the plains and the hilly areas of the state," Gandhi alleged.

Claiming that Khanduri government is not providing adequate electricity to the hilly areas of the state, she said, "Only 13 per cent of the total electricity is being made available to the hilly districts."

"Does the BJP government believe that people living in the hilly areas can manage only with the sun and the moon?," Gandhi asked. She pointed out that the BJP had promised that it would provide electricity to each and every village of the state. "Did it really happen? It certainly did not happen," she said.

She also accused the state government of stalling the industrialisation process. "New industrial units were not set up. And those which were already set up are being destroyed," she said.

Accusing the state government of not properly utilising central funds, the Congress chief said, "The UPA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had given thousands crores of rupees for development of Uttarkahand. Whether this money was properly utilised, you must ask the BJP."

She claimed that the BJP government is giving away jobs meant for SCs/STs to its "own people" and those belonging backward classes are leading a miserable life in the state.

She said the Congress has given due attention to Uttarakhand and the UPA government has sanctioned several prestigious institutes like IIMs, AIIMS, NITs for the state.

"Congress does not believe in false promises. We fulfill all promises. I assure you we will stick to our promises. So please vote for Congress," Gandhi said, asking the people to vote out Khanduri Government.

PTI