The Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh lambasted the central and State Governments for ‘insensitivity’ towards the problems faced by people due to decisions like demonetisation and introduction of Goods and Services Tax. He also criticised the State Government for not yet fulfilling its promise of a lokayukta in the State. Addressing media persons at the Congress Bhawan, the PCC chief said that on becoming the chief minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat had said that lokayukta would be brought in the State in three months.
However, nine months later, the State is still without lokayukta. “The CM repeatedly stresses in his public addresses that the state government has a zero-tolerance stance towards corruption. However, but not yet bringing the lokayukta, the State Government has shown that it is not interested in preventing corruption in the State. Apart from this the draft of delimitation of local bodies which the state government has come up with is electorally motivated. For example, seven villages were earlier merged into the Doiwala municipality but after it was felt that this would have negative effect for the BJP in the election in Doiwala constituency, these villages were removed and another village was brought into the municipal area.
The decision is also questionable because the authorities are failing to function efficiently even within the existing limits of the municipal bodies.”
Regarding Prakash Pandey’s suicide, he rejected the allegation leveled by the Bharatiya Janata Party about the Congress politicising the issue and said that the Government should reconsider the factors which had pushed him to such desperation. “However, we do not have much hope from this government.
Before the elections, they had promised that loan waivers would be provided to farmers but this has not been done yet either by the Centre or by the state. So far about six farmers have committed suicide in Uttarakhand.”