The Congress in Uttarakhand has averred that the Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Haldwani was an “utter failure and direction-less” programme. The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay opined that the 14-minute long speech given by the BJP national president Amit Shah on the occasion made it appear as if he was suffering from a “phobia of Rahul Gandhi and Harish Rawat”.
In a statement issued by the Uttarakhand PCC, Upadhyay has stated that during his entire speech, the BJP national president was focused more on raking up the past instead of touching upon issues pertinent in the context of Uttarakhand. “All that he said regarding union territories is totally separate from the truth, which shows the duplicity of the BJP. In Haldwani, the BJP national president should have given answer to the questions regarding the BJP State Government exploiting the young State when in office from 2000 to 2002 apart from which it also broke all records in corruption even in the construction of the Vidhan Sabha building and purchase of its construction material. The BJP-led State Government had turned Uttarakhand into a hub of corruption and loot during its term in office from 2007 to 2012. The Congress party brought out their corruption cases with evidence in the Vidhan Sabha and in other platforms,”further averred the PCC chief. Upadhyay went on, “The BJP national president did not make any mention of the BJP’s Government at the Centre and the BJP State governments in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand with their Ministers and Chief Ministers mired in corruption. If Parivartan is to be brought, it should be brought in these States first.
He did not mention the challenges standing in front of the nation. He should have told the people of Uttarakhand about whether they will bring the people of Uttarakhand under the purview of job reservation in Central Government services.
The people should have been told whether or not the centre will provide 50 per cent subsidy in cooking gas to Uttarakhand for protecting the environment and water,” said Upadhyay. He further questioned as to how much longer will it take for the Central Government to approve the proposals submitted by the State Government under the Namami Gange mission. Upadhyay went on to accuse the BJP of committing the “murder of democracy” in Uttarakhand as a result of which the voter in the State will vote for the Congress which will win the Vidhan Sabha election with two-thirds majority to once again form its Government in the State, he said. Referring to demonetisation, the PCC chief opined that the BJP had become ensnared in its own trap as the people of Uttarakhand will seek the account of the `5 crore expense incurred in Amit Shah’s rally.