The Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay and other Congress leaders reached Delhi on Tuesday night to prepare for the PCC’s agitation slated to start on Thursday in support of its demands for Uttarakhand from the Centre. Upadhyay said that in the first phase of party’s agitation to be launched on August 13, Congress workers from Dehradun and Haridwar districts will gather outside former Chief Minister and BJP MP from Haridwar, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank’s residence in the national capital at Tilak lane and protest there.
He said, “The demonstration will be against Pokhriyal’s failure to mount pressure on the Centre for releasing funds for the Ardh Kumbh Mela to be organised in Uttarakhand next year. The Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all the five BJP MPs from the State are equally responsible for the failure to take up the cause of the disaster affected State in Parliament,” said the PCC chief.
Uttarakhand Rajya Nirman Andolankari Samman Parishad vice chairman Dhirendra Pratap said that all preparations had been made for the gherao by the PCC in Delhi. While the gherao in the first stage will be aimed at Nishank, the second gherao will be aimed at Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari on the first day of the winter session of the Parliament. Pratap said that according to the Congress, the BJP MPs from Uttarakhand had remained mute on State issues during the monsoon session of Parliament. Both Upadhyay and Pratap alleged that the BJP had orchestrated the recent sting operation purportedly showing corruption in the State Government to defame the Government-led by Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
PCC general secretary Shilpi Arora said that if the demands made by the State Government are not met by the Centre, Congress workers will not let any of the Central ministers enter Uttarakhand unless the Centre sheds its attitude of neglect towards the calamity-ravaged State where over 350 villages in disaster-affected areas are yet to be relocated and an Ardh Kumbh is to be held next year.