BJP's yatra will present govt's report card: Dhami
Dehradun, Oct. 23 -- Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday accused the Congress and its allies of undermining democratic institutions and said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will conduct a 'Save Democracy, End Anarchy' campaign to counter what he described as misleading narratives being spread among the public.
Speaking at a press conference at the BJP office, Dhami said the campaign, to be launched under the guidance of the party's central leadership, would be led by Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt in the state.
Dhami said the campaign would be conducted in two phases - from October 22 to November 5 and from November 11 to November 30. "A large foot march (padyatra) will be held in Srinagar Garhwal on October 31, followed by a march involving more than 10,000 people in Dehradun on November 2. Another programme will be held in Rudrapur on November 3, after which similar marches would be organised across all 13 districts of Uttarakhand," he said.
Dhami alleged that the Congress had been unable to accept the BJP's electoral victories since 2014 and had developed a tendency to disrupt the functioning of the system whenever it lost elections. "For a long time, the country was held back due to the prolonged rule of a single party," Dhami said, alleging that the period was marked by slogan-based politics, appeasement and vote-bank politics. He said the people eventually elected a government with an absolute majority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.
He also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying repeated criticism of electoral institutions reflected a lack of respect for the office of the Leader of the Opposition and democratic institutions.
Dhami said, "If Congress has objections to the electoral process, they should be raised through appropriate forums instead of questioning the entire system after an unfavourable result." He argued that the party should review its own strategy rather than blame institutions for repeated electoral defeats.
On the Congress's Nyay Yatra, Dhami said the opposition party lacked a clear roadmap and was looking for issues to highlight against the government. He alleged that when it failed to find genuine shortcomings, it created issues and spread rumours.
Asked why the BJP needed to hold a padyatra when the government's work was already known to people, Dhami said the campaign would be used to present the government's "report card" ahead of the next Assembly elections.
"We will go among the people and inform them about what we have accomplished," he said, adding that the party would highlight its previous vision documents and manifestos, completed works, ongoing initiatives and plans for the next five years. He said the campaign would also focus on Uttarakhand's contribution to the PM's vision of a "Viksit Bharat" by 2047.
On whether the controversy involving cabinet minister Rekha Arya would become an election issue, Dhami said the allegations required investigation. He questioned why the allegations had surfaced now, noting that the individuals concerned had been associated for 22 years. He said the truth could be established only through a formal investigation and that the inquiry into the audio recordings was already under way. Dhami said the matter was sensitive and stressed that such incidents should not recur because they could have a direct impact on people's lives.
Senior vice-president of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Suryakant Dhasmana hit back at the BJP's announcement of a yatra, saying the party should instead take out a "Paschatap Yatra" (repentance yatra) and apologise to the people of the state. He said the Congress's Nyay Yatra had created panic within the BJP, prompting the party to announce its own yatra. "Considering the condition of the state in the last ten years under BJP's misgovernance, the BJP should take out a Paschatap Yatra and seek an apology from the people of the state," he said....
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