The Congress-led State Government is not serious on the issue of declaring Gairsain the permanent capital of Uttarakhand as no proposal on this issue was tabled in the Vidhan Sabha session in Gairsain. People living in the mountainous areas want Gairsain to be the State capital but successive State Governments of the BJP and Congress have duped the people on this issue, said the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P) president Trivendra Singh Panwar. He said that the party will consolidate the local residents to organise a movement for making Gairsain the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.
Addressing the media here at the Press Club, Panwar said that Congress is neglecting public sentiment as the Pradesh Congress Committee did not take any decision on Gairsain at its party convention there. He said, “Earlier, on October 30 we had taken out a rally and candle march along with the locals in Gairsain in support of the demand for making Gairsain the permanent State capital. While the Congress doesn’t appear interested in this issue, the BJP too has not done anything substantial towards establishing the State’s permanent capital in Gairsain. We will not accept a temporary or summer capital status for Gairsain. In the 15 years since creation of Uttarakhand State, successive State Governments of the BJP and Congress have destroyed the original values on which the Statehood movement was based. Gairsain should be declared the State capital in this assembly session.” Acknowledging that the UKD had failed the meet the expectations of the public wanting a regional alternative to the national parties, Panwar said that the party had undertaken a State-wide campaign to communicate with the public and elicit membership.
He said, “The campaign started in September and was conducted in five stages through various places in Garhwal and Kumaon including Gairsain where the locals expressed support to us on the demand for permanent State capital. Throughout out drive across the State, we found that people, especially in rural mountainous areas are disappointed with both the BJP and Congress. These two national parties have done little to achieve the development and upliftment of the mountainous regions for which the Statehood movement was undertaken. The State Government is ignoring the locals and their interests while favouring companies, contractors, agencies and the land mafia. The UKD has been staging a protest since August 30 against anomalies in disaster relief and other issues but the government is ignoring these issues. We will not tolerate it if the local unemployed youth are ignored and persons and agencies based outside Uttarakhand are employed instead. We are giving the State Government a week long ultimatum after which the UKD is prepared to go to any extent to intensify the agitation.” Stating that the State Government had sold valuable lands to enterprises and persons based outside Uttarakhand at very cheap rates, Panwar said that the UKD fully supports the villagers at Nainisar who have reportedly removed the foundation stone for a private international school unveiled by the chief minister recently despite strong public opposition.