Defending the Uttarakhand Government against allegations of misgovernance made by Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna said that Modi had been provided incorrect information by the BJP State leaders due to which he had made ‘baseless’ allegations.
The Shankhnaad Rally on Sunday was a ‘fiasco’ with people being brought from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to fill the rally venue, said Bahuguna.
A day after Modi addressed a mammoth public gathering in Dehradun lambasting the State Government for its failure to generate power efficiently and ensure proper rehabilitation of disaster victims among other issues, Bahuguna along with three of his cabinet ministers rebutted the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate.
“The BJP State leaders appear to have informed Modi incorrectly about the scenario in the State so there is a need for us to clarify some of the issues raised by the Gujarat CM. Contrary to the impression given by Modi, the average power generation during the five years of BJP Government in Uttarakhand was 7,990 million units which has now increased to 8,593 MU in two years since the Congress-led Government began its tenure.
While the BJP Government made DPRs for nine hydro electric projects in five years, we have made DPRs for 12 projects in two years. We have also made a policy for rehabilitation of those affected by the construction of power projects,” said Bahuguna.
Referring to the criticism by Modi on the State’s ‘reluctance’ to adopt the lokayukta Bill passed by the State Assembly during the tenure of BC Khanduri of the BJP as CM, Bahuguna said that Modi should have implemented this lokayukta Bill in Gujarat if it is so good.
“This lokayukta Bill was drafted with the help of Arvind Kejriwal while the lokpal Bill which the BJP is now ready to help pass in the Parliament is being opposed by Kejriwal. The BJP should clarify whether it supports the lokpal approved by social activist Anna Hazare or the one advocated by Kejriwal in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand will implement the Bill passed in the Parliament,” added the CM.
Refuting allegations of State Government targeting Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, the CM said that the State had issued 81 notices related to revenue cases to Ramdev.
“While the BJP talks of eradicating corruption, it should not oppose action initiated against irregularities. The State Government is not acting against Baba Ramdev in a vindictive manner,” stressed Bahuguna.
Agriculture minister Harak Singh Rawat said that only Rs140 crore would have been disbursed as disaster relief amount in Uttarakhand according to the National Disaster Response Force standards but the State government relaxed various standards and distributed about Rs350 crore for relief to the disaster victims.
“After visiting Uttarakhand, Modi had sent a letter to the Government of India, appreciating the Uttarakhand Government for its post-disaster efforts. It is wrong to say that he was prevented from visiting the affected areas due to political reasons because no one including the Union Home Minister was allowed to visit the disaster affected areas between June 18 and June 25 when the rescue and relief works were the first priority of the State,” he said.