lambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay has alleged that during his State visit, Shah would attempt to spoil the atmosphere in Uttarakhand for political gains in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections.
Addressing the media on behalf of Upadhyay at the Congress Bhawan here on Wednesday, the PCC chief spokesman Mathuradatt Joshi opined that the BJP national president Amit Shah, slated to arrive in the State on Thursday, should apologise to the people of Uttarakhand for the present situation in the State.
Quoting Upadhyay, the party spokesman said, “The BJP has never had a reverential attitude towards the Constitution of India and its maker BR Ambedkar. Now that the Vidhan Sabha elections are going to be held in Uttarakhand, Amit Shah will try to create disturbance in the State as they had done before 2014 lok Sabha elections by marring the politics in Uttar Pradesh with violence. Shah heads the party heading the Central Government so it would have been better if the party president arrived in Uttarakhand to communicate the Centre’s assurance on commitment towards the State’s welfare. The people of Uttarakhand want explanation on various issues including the Rs 1,500 crore drop in central budgetary allocation to Uttarakhand, apathy towards the State in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship programme- Namami Gange and the issue of the State not being provided green bonus by the Centre.”
He also questioned the reason for the deteriorated condition of Char Dham Yatra circuit roads-under the purview of the Central Government, the State not having rights over its water resources and the reason for the State not being accorded ownership of the hydro electric projects and dams constructed on the rivers in Uttarakhand.
It is pertinent to mention here that the BJP national president is slated to arrive in Haridwar on Thursday to attend a programme being organised by the party in Haridwar on April 14 to mark the 125th birth centenary of BR Ambedkar.