The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president has lambasted the Uttarakhand Government and Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat for not taking a clear stance against corruption and on other important issues in the State. Opining that the State Government is riddled with contradictions, the PCC president also said that a considerable number of people had cancelled their advance bookings for the Char Dham Yatra due to failure of the state government to broadcast a positive message regarding the situation in Uttarakhand.
Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan here on Friday, the PCC president questioned the stance of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre, stating that the effect of the BJP stance was being witnessed in the Kashmir region of Jammu and Kashmir and in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav arrested and sentenced to death by Pakistan. The Congress will stage a demonstration on these two issues this Sunday, he said. Upadhyay said, “The situation in regions from Kashmir to the north eastern region is alarming especially for states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh which are states with peaceful conditions which also have international borders with China.” Referring to decisions taken by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Upadhyay appreciated him for sending a clear message against corruption. He said, “While the UP chief minister has taken a stance against corruption, his Uttarakhand counterpart is surrounded by those tainted by alleged involvement of mining mafia and social welfare department scam. The Uttarakhand chief minister is silent on such questions whether it be the bureaucracy or politics.
Such is the situation that it is not yet clearly known whether the alleged national highway scam in Udham Singh Nagar has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a probe or not. This state government is riddled by contradictions. During the term of the previous state government the then chief minister Harish Rawat and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had visited Kedarnath and broadcast a message to all about Kedarnath being safe for a pilgrimage following the 2013 disaster. No such actions are visible now due to which many have cancelled their bookings before start of the Char Dham Yatra,” he said.
Upadhyay also accused the CM of insensitivity stating that “Rawat was dancing in a cultural programme after a bus accident had killed at least 44 people in an area nearby”. Stating that the ex-gratia amount announced by the CM was inadequate he said that each bereaved family should be provided Rs five lakh ex gratia. The PCC chief further informed that he would be starting his Garhwal tour on Saturday, adding that from now onward the monthly meet of the party will be held on the ninth day of each month. Following this decision the next monthly meet of the PCC is slated to be held at Badrinath on May 9, said Upadhyay. The PCC vice president Jot Singh Bisht and chief spokesman Mathura Dut Joshi were also present in the Press conference.