Rudrapur, Oct. 26 -- Congress's Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja skipping the garlanding of Shaheed Bhagat Singh's statue during the party's Nyay Yatra in Rudrapur on Saturday sparked a political row in Udham Singh Nagar, with the BJP alleging that her act amounted to an insult to the freedom fighter and the people of the district. Rudrapur MLA Shiv Arora criticised Selja, saying Bhagat Singh Chowk held a special place in the local community and represented patriotism. "Skipping garlanding the martyr's statue is an insult towards the martyr and local people. Bhagat Singh Chowk has a respectful identity for locals and is a centre of patriotism," Arora said. The Congress's Nyay Yatra reached Rudrapur after passing through Jaspur, Kashipur and Bazpur on Saturday. When the yatra reached Bhagat Singh Chowk in central Rudrapur, local Congress leaders, including former MLA Rajkumar Thukral, were present on the platform with garlands. According to the BJP, Congress leaders invited Selja to climb onto the platform and garland the statue of Bhagat Singh. However, instead of climbing onto the platform and garlanding the statue, Selja touched the garland from the bottom of the platform before moving ahead with the yatra. Thukral later garlanded the statue. Rejecting the allegation that Selja had disrespected Bhagat Singh, Thukral said she had avoided climbing onto the platform because of health issues and had nevertheless paid her respects to the martyr. "Kumari Selja avoided climbing onto the platform following health issues. She touched the garland and paid respect to the martyr's statue from the bottom of the platform," Thukral said. He also accused the BJP of distorting the incident for political reasons. Selja did not give an immediate clarification on the matter....