In the political build-up to prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dehradun slated on Tuesday, the Congress in Uttarakhand has raised various issues, demanding answers from the Bharatiya Janata Party for the allegedly “anti-Uttarakhand” stance being purportedly maintained by the BJP-led Union Government. Instead of BJP leaders raising questions at the Congress, the prime minister should answer to the public as to the execution of various promises made by him and other party leaders during the campaigning for lok Sabha elections, said the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesman Mathura Datt Joshi. Addressing members of the media at the Congress Bhawan on the eve of the prime minister’s Dehradun visit, the PCC chief spokesman alleged that the BJP is trying to take credit for creation of Uttarakhand State but is consistently working in a manner detrimental to the interests of the state. He questioned as to why the central financial assistance received by the state is being stopped by the Central Government in a manner which is creating impediments in the execution of developmental works in the state. He said, “Despite the Congress repeatedly raising the demand, the people of Uttarakhand are not being brought under the purview of job reservation in Central Government services. Similarly, the state is not being meeting the long standing demand of providing green bonus to Uttarakhand for the ecological services its environmental wealth provides.Also, the additional budget required for resettlement and rehabilitation of villages vulnerable to disaster is not being released by the centre,” said Joshi. The PCC chief spokesman further opined that the prime minister had remained apathetic to Uttarakhand after a period of two and half years and was now visiting the state in view of the coming Vidhan Sabha elections. About 45 days after the demonetisation of `500 and `1000 currency notes was implemented, the people in Uttarakhand are still having to stand in queues to access their own money deposited in banks, he said.
Accusing the BJP of harassing its political rivals since assuming office at the centre, Joshi said that the BJP which used to allege misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation is now itself resorting to using the bureau to harass and frame opposition chief minister and State ministers on false grounds.