Accusing the state government of selective demolition during the anti- encroachment drive in New Tehri town, the State Congress president Pritam Singh said that the local BJP leaders are leading the drive.
Addressing the media persons at the state party office here on Friday, Singh said that the local administration has registered cases against some Congress leaders when they tried to stage protest in Tehri. The PCC chief further said that the anti -encroachment drive has affected a large number of people in Dehradun, Haridwar, Rudrapur, Vikasnagar and Tehri. “In the recently concluded monsoon session of the Assembly, the Chair directed the government to have a fresh look at the drive and ensure that the people do not face problems. But it is unfortunate that the state government is not acting on the direction of the Assembly Speaker,’’ he said.
Taking pot shots at the Trivendra Singh Rawat government, the Congress leader said that the state government is delaying Urban Local Body (ULB) election in apprehension of debacle. “The state government tried to change the structure of ULBs by undertaking delimitation. However, the process being found faulty, the court overruled it. The ruling party knows that if the ULB elections are held now it would face debacle and the outcome would impact the 2019 parliamentary elections. This is why they delaying the ULB elections,’’ Singh said.
Speaking of the anti- encroachment drive in Tehri, the former PCC president Kishore Upadhyaya said that the district administration has failed to show him the order of the court on the basis of which the demolition drive was being conducted. “The district collectors who are supposed to be revenue collectors are acting as revenue collectors for BJP. The administration is pulling down structures selectively to please the BJP leaders. We demand action against the officials who chose to look the other way when public spaces were occupied by the encroachers,” he said.
Among others the Congress MLA from Kedarnath Manoj Rawat and former minister Dinesh Agarwal were present at the press conference.