Gairsain, Oct 28 (IANS) The Congress party on Wednesday staged a protest at the Uttarakhand Assembly premises in Gairsain, opposing the short duration of the ongoing session and demanding an extension to discuss issues affecting various constituencies, including roads, healthcare, education and corruption, while also raising public grievances.
The protesters also highlighted the Ankita Bhandari murder case and questioned the ruling party’s silence on the matter. The Opposition continued its agitation for the second consecutive day during the two-day Assembly session, which began on Tuesday.
Congress MLA Lakhapat Singh, speaking to reporters, criticised the BJP government, alleging that its policies had contributed to the state’s deterioration. He accused the ruling party of repeatedly undermining Uttarakhand’s interests and said Congress would continue to raise public issues both on the streets and inside the Assembly.
“Look at how the BJP has led to religious, economic, social, and political degradation in this state, constantly working to insult the state. In response to this, Congress stands from the streets to the Assembly floor. No accountability is being ensured by the government in the Legislative Assembly over the corruption, as well as the Ankita murder case, but the government will have to take responsibility,” Singh said.
At the same time, a viral audio clip has triggered a political controversy in Uttarakhand, with allegations involving the family of Pritam Singh, the Congress MLA from Chakrata.
The audio, which has circulated widely on social media, purportedly contains threats and abusive language allegedly used by the MLA’s brother, Chaman Singh, against an individual identified as Balakram.
According to the allegations, Balakram was also subjected to pressure to persuade his two daughters to join the Congress party. The controversy intensified on the second day of the Assembly session when BJP leader Madhu Chauhan, accompanied by her supporters, staged a protest outside the Assembly premises against the Congress party and Pritam Singh.
The protesters also burned an effigy as part of their demonstration.
Meanwhile, Diksha, one of Balakram’s daughters, spoke about the alleged incident and shared her family’s account with IANS.
She said that her family had traditionally supported the Congress party, but that the situation changed after she and her sister decided to contest their college elections independently.
“Our family has been supporting Congress. However, during our college elections, we decided to contest independently. Following this, people from Congress started to threaten my father. We want strict action against the culprits,” Diksha told IANS, demanding stringent action against those allegedly involved in the incident.
–IANS
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