Ambala (Haryana), Oct 7 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spent 20 minutes at an election rally here Wednesday listing the achievements of the Congress government in Haryana led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Looking relaxed in his white kurta-pajama and trademark light-blue turban, Manmohan Singh exhorted people in Haryana to vote for the Congress again in the Oct 13 assembly elections.

"I have full faith that you will elect the Congress in this election. People know that only the Congress can take the country and the state ahead," he told a gathering at his first election rally in Haryana at the Gandhi ground in this city, 45 km from Chandigarh.

He said: "You need a government in Haryana which can take the development work forward and do concrete work."

He mentioned Hooda several times in his speech, praising him for all the achievements in the last nearly five years.

Chief Minister Hooda has not only implemented all schemes introduced by the central government but introduced new ones on his own. Haryana has seen a lot of development in the last five years. What I am listing here are only some of those achievements," the prime minister said.

Among the achievements, Manmohan Singh listed the growth of the state's budget from Rs. 2,300 crore in 2005 to Rs. 11,000 crore now, vastly improved law and order situation, higher investment that created new jobs, welfare schemes for all sections of society and ensuring the highest per capita income for the state.

He added: "Today, Haryana is a more prosperous state. The environment of peace and security was not there in the time of the previous government in Haryana. For accelerated development of the state, you should elect the Congress again."(IANS)