Due to the rain forecast on February 22 in Dehradun, the planned rally of AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi has been rescheduled to February 23, said State Pradesh Congress Committee President and Cabinet Minister Yashpal Arya.
He said that all the other plans related to Rahul Gandhi’s visit will remain the same. Meanwhile, the party State spokesman Dhirendra Pratap and Congress State general secretary Vijay Saraswat addressed the media about the preparations for the rally and the political scenario in the State.
Pratap said that final touches are being given to arrangements for Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Dehradun to be held at the Parade Ground. He said that the BJP is feeling insecure in Uttarakhand due to the various developmental measures taken by chief minister Harish Rawat.
Pratap said that even though the Congress had got roughly 10 days to prepare for Rahul Gandhi’s visit, the number of people expected to attend this event in Dehradun is expected to be large enough to make it a historical occasion. An alternate spot has been selected at Parade Ground for the dais and senior officials including the SPG ADG, Dehradun DM and SSP reviewed arrangements at the site on Wednesday, he said.
“We welcome the approval to one rank,one pension and Rs 1,200 crore provision made for mountain States by the Union Government. The Health Insurance Scheme launched by CM Harish Rawat will facilitate much public welfare,” he said, while adding that the BJP was already uneasy due to the developmental works initiated by previous CM Vijay Bahuguna on top of which the tours to various parts of the State and measures undertaken by the present CM have demoralised the opposition.
“The BJP had conspired to destabilise the Congress-led State government by spreading rumours about division in the alliance partner Progressive Democratic Front and by bringing the no-confidence motion in the Assembly which had failed. The failure of the no-confidence motion is a slap on the face of the opposition and we are grateful to the PDF members for their support to the State Government,” said Pratap.
Responding to criticism of the CM for delay in allocation of portfolios to Cabinet ministers, the Congress State spokesman said that this criticism was not justified as the decision taken by Rawat was fair. “The CM took oath of office a few days before the start of the budget session in the Assembly so he did not allocate portfolios to cabinet ministers as they would have found it difficult to answer queries in the Assembly in case their portfolios were changed,” he stressed. Rajpur Road MlA Rajkumar and other Congress leaders were also present at the Press conference.