The Congress staged a Statewide protest against the alleged obstinacy of the BJP to prevent the Budget Session of Vidhan Sabha from proceeding as desired. However, in Dehradun, the protest staged by the Congress leaders and workers exposed the factionalism within the party and lack of discipline which not only embarrassed the party, but also caused major inconvenience to the public which faced traffic congestion on the Rajpur Road during the protest.
Political observers pointed out that this was the first occasion when the ruling party staged protest against the Opposition in Uttarakhand. In Dehradun, party members gathered at Congress Bhawan from where State PCC vice president Suryakant Dhasmana led the group to burn the BJP in effigy. With Dhasmana leading the protest, Cabinet Minister Dinesh Aggarwal and Rajpur Road MlA Rajkumar preferred to remain in the Congress Bhawan. Talking to the media persons, Aggarwal said that the BJP was simply trying to disrupt the proceedings of the Vidhan Sabha because it was anxious to avoid the repercussions of actions based on the report of the Bhati commission.
"The BJP did not protest when the Bhati commission was formed but now with its report slated to be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha, the party is finding the commission unconstitutional. If this was the case, the BJP should have opposed the formation of the commission in the past when it was formed," said the Minister. However, party sources said that Dhasmana leading the protest in Dehradun inspite of Aggarwal and Rajkumar's presence has miffed many party members. The situation also exposed factionalism in the party as workers were divided into those accompanying Dhasmana and those remaining with the two MlAs.
However, party sources said that Congress members staged protest against the BJP in various towns of the State. They alleged that the BJP was disrupting proceedings of the House in stead of debating on the Bhati commission report and their objections to it. According to the State PCC chief Yashpal Arya, the BJP is making false allegations about land scams at a time when scams allegedly orchestrated during the term of the BJP led State Government are about to be exposed.