Congress leaders and workers from Uttarakhand demonstrated outside the home of Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in Delhi on Thursday to protest against his ‘failure’ to secure Central funds for Uttarakhand in time for the Ardh Kumbh Mela to be held next year.
Uttarakhand Rajya Nirman Andolankari Samman Parishad vice chairman Dhirendra Pratap said, “For some days before the protest, Nishank had been stating that he would welcome the protesting Congress members with refreshments but a senior officer of Delhi police told me that Nishank had cited threat to his life and secured heavy police presence outside his home. Soon after the Congress protesters reached the protest site, we were arrested and taken to the Chanakyapuri police station from where we were later released,” he said.
Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Shilpi Arora alleged that the Haridwar MP had broken the trust not only of his voters but of all the people of Uttarakhand. She said that many issues of State interest are pending with the Central Government but the BJP MPs from Uttarakhand have largely remained silent on these issues. The protest movement against the Centre and BJP MPs will continue in the future as per the directions of the PCC president Kishore Upadhyay, she added.
Congress leaders from Uttarakhand including Vijay Saraswat, Prithviraj Chauhan, Sunil Gulati and others were also among those who participated in the protest outside the Haridwar MP’s Delhi residence.