The people today are disenchanted with the Bharatiya Janata Party Government which has failed to fulfill the promises the party had made during the elections. The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh said this while addressing a gathering of party workers after a protest rally here on Monday.
Earlier, a large number of party members and supporters undertook a two-wheeler rally as part of the Jan Chetna rally of the Congress on the issues of price rise, unemployment, Goods and Services Tax, demonetisation and farmer suicides. The rally was flagged off by leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Indira Hridayesh. After passing through various parts of the city, the rally concluded at a venue on GMS Road where the PCC chief Pritam Singh addressed the gathering.
He accused the BJP Government of failing to fulfill the promises it had made during the elections. The problem of price rise has continued unabated which is causing severe hardships to the public with the Government failing to exert any control over it. The execution of developmental works has been badly affected in Uttarakhand. Problems like power cuts continuing for many hours have compounded the woes of the public, he said. Singh further averred that the BJP State Government was not even capable of repairing the potholes on roads in the state. He said, "The officialdom on the other hand is getting out of control.
The law and order situation has also deteriorated. While youth suffer due to unemployment and sugar cane farmers await payment of their dues, members of the business fraternity suffering the effects of demonetisation and GST are contemplating extreme steps like suicide with one of them also committing suicide. But, the State Government has remained insensitive towards these burning issues, against which the Congress took out the Jan Chetna rally today,” he said, while adding that the protest would stir up the double-engine BJP Government.
The PCC chief further opined that prices had been rising consistently since the BJP Government began its term at the Centre.
When the prices of onions had climbed up during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, the BJP which was then in the opposition had held major protests against the government. However, now when the prices of onions have gone up during the term of the BJP Government, there seems to be no relief in sight.
He also pointed out that the price of lPG cylinder had double compared to the price under the UPA Government. Recalling transporter Prakash Pandey who had committed suicide, Singh said that the incident had further exposed the apathy of the State Government.
Pandey had informed the prime minister’s office and the Chief Minister’s office about the problems he was facing but no steps have been taken yet to address the issues, which is a cause for concern. Former Ministers Dinesh Agarwal, Hira Singh Bisht, Mantri Prasad Naithani, PCC senior vice president Suryakant Dhasmana and other PCC office bearers along with a number of supporters were among those present on the occasion.