E-Paper
Uttarakhand Congress burns effigy of finance minister; demands his resignation
A video of Uttarakhand finance minister Prem Chand Aggarwal thrashing a local resident on a busy road in Rishikesh went viral on social media
The Uttarakhand Congress staged a protest in Dehradun against finance minister Premchand Aggarwal on Wednesday terming his alleged bullying and thrashing of a man on a busy road in Rishikesh as a blot on democracy and an attack on the common man.
The protesters while raising slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and the finance minister, burnt his effigy and demanded his immediate resignation from the Cabinet. Aggarwal is a four-time MLA from the Rishikesh assembly segment.
Congress state president Karan Mahara said the incident is a blot on democracy where a senior minister of the ruling party is treating the common man like vermin and beating him mercilessly. “Such acts do not suit the elected public representatives in any way. Prem Chand Aggarwal is not a roadside goon who should indulge in such bullying. He has held dignified posts like Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and minister of parliamentary affairs. Such irresponsible behaviour was never expected from him”
Mahara said it is strange that the police are filing a case fagainst the victim first. “It was only after Congress activists and other locals staged a protest in front of the Rishikesh Kotwali police station that a case was filed on the complaint of the Surendra Singh Negi”
On Tuesday, a video of Prem Chand Aggarwal thrashing a local resident Surendra Singh Negi on a busy road in Rishikesh had gone viral on social media.
Mahara expressed apprehension that like every time, this time too the BJP high command will ignore the matter despite being cognizant of the same. “Congress demands his immediate resignation and strict action against him If those on whose shoulders the law-and-order responsibility of the state lies flout the law by assaulting the general public, how will the rule of law prevail in the state then”.
Congress Dehradun Mahanagar president Jaswinder Singh Goghi, who led the protest in Dehradun, said such high-handedness and bullying of the minister has exposed the real face of the BJP government. He said that the BJP government has become drunk with power.
Congress senior vice president Godavari Thapli said that the minister’s name had cropped up in the assembly recruitment scam, but even then, the state BJP government did not take any action against him.
Terming the incident as unfortunate, Manveer Singh Chouhan, state BJP media in charge said that chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken cognisance of the incident and asked director general of police (DGP) to investigate the matter. “It is possible only in BJP that a case has been filed against a minister. BJP is clear about these issues. During the investigation, whosoever is found responsible, will be dealt with accordingly and strong action will be taken against him,” he said
Chouhan said, “The party state president Mahendra Bhatt has also issued a statement saying ‘such incidents do not send a good message. Restrained conduct and behaviour is expected from everyone in the public sector ’ ”.
