The deputy leader of Congress in Uttarakhand Assembly, Karan Mahra cornered the State Government for not holding a single session at Gairsain this year. Initiating debate on Gairsain under rule 58, the Congress leader said that Gairsain is associated with the aspirations of the people of state who demanded a separate mountain State. He said that hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent on development of infrastructural facilities at Gairsain and by not holding a single session at Gairsain the State Government has hurt the sentiments of people and insulted those who have sacrificed much for a separate state. In a swipe on the leaders including those of his own party, Mahara said that they have become used to easy life full of facilities and have forgotten the hardships.
The LoP, Indira Hridayesh said that Gairsain was focal point of aspirations of the people of mountainous areas even when the separate state was not carved out of Uttar Pradesh.
She said that it is unanimously believed that Gairsain should be the capital of the State however no final decision on Gairsain being a permanent or summer capital has been taken.
Hridayesh also said that one session in a year should be held at Gairsain. In his reply, the parliamentary affairs minister Madan Kaushik said that state government is committed to development of Gairsain and is taking serious actions on the front.
He assured that one session in a year would be held at Gairsain. On the issue of not holding the winter session at Gairsain, the minister said that the many members including those of Congress had expressed unwillingness to hold session in Gairsain due to extreme cold there.