Uttarakhand: Congress legislators stage dharna in front of state assembly to support farmers’ demands

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Congress General Secretary Harish Rawat along with Congress party legislators including the state Congress chief Pritam Singh staged a dharna in support of the demands of the farmers and against state government’s handling of the hooch tragedy, in front of the state assembly during the third day of the ongoing budget session of the state assembly in Dehradun on Wednesday.

Despite heavy security, former Chief Minister Harish Rawat managed to reach the Vidhan Sabha building and started his proposed dharna along with Congress party leaders and workers in support of the demands of the farmers and and to condemn the failure of the state government in checking the sale of spurious liquor in the state which led to hooch tragedy resulting in the death of more than a hundred persons in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand and neighbouring district of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Harish Rawat, accompanied by former Uttarakhand minister Mantri Prasad Nanthani and  former legislator Anusuya Prasad Maikhuri started the dharna. Later, Congress party legislators who boycotted the third day of the budget session of the state assembly also joined in.

Addressing the workers, Harish Rawat said that the state BJP government on the lines of NDA government at the Centre has shown little sensitivity toward farmers. He said that farmers are bearing the burnt of the wrong policies of the Modi government while the state government has failed to give the arrears of sugarcane to them.

Uttarakhand Congress Chief Pritam Singh said that the recent hooch tragedy has brought out the true face of the BJP government. He alleged that none of the BJP ministers or leaders visited the victims or their families and the government has failed to provide help and assistance to the affected families. He said that the illicit liquor trade is going on under official patronage and demanded that at least a sum of ₹ five lakh be given to the bereaved families.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Speaker Premchand Aggarwal  on the persistent demand of the Congress legislators constituted a house panel to look into the hooch tragedy and recommend steps and measures to be taken to prevent such tragedies in future. The state government has already constituted a Special Investigative Team (SIT) of Police to probe the issue.