Opposition parties, social activist condemn BJP for communalising polity in Uttarakhand  

Opposition parties, social activist condemn BJP for communalising polity in Uttarakhand

B.D.Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, Feb 11

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ‘Sangh Parivar’ have been deliberately trying  to polarise the Hindu majority population  by taking such measures as passing Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and inciting violence by demolishing religious places of Muslims at Haldwani resulting in death and destruction in a bid to sidetrack the main issues confronting the state of Uttarakhand. These are the views expressed by leaders of opposition parties and other civil society groups in the state.

” The BJP government has failed in every aspect of development of the state and to understand the genuine needs of the people. The ruling dispensation would not be able to answer questions on the issues confronting the common people namely action taken in Ankita Bhandari murder case , several paper leak scandals and wanton allocation of land to outsiders in the hills , that is the reason that they have been able to communalise the situation throughout the country to skirt the basic issues ,” said Karan Mahra, president of Uttarakhand Congress Committee.

P.C .Tiwari, president of Uttarakhand Parivartan Party, a regional political outfit, said that whereas the issue of robbery of hill land is the biggest issue in Uttarakhand, the  BJP has ignited Haldwani issue before Lok Sabha elections to divert the public attention and communalise for political gains.” When the haldwani issue was pending in court and intelligence input was against any such action then why the local officials acted in haste and provocative manner,” said P.C. Tiwari. On the issue of passage of UCC in Uttarakhand assembly, he said that it was not Uniform since tribals and Scheduled Tribe population has been kept out of its purview.

” If the BJP is really concerned with issues of common farmers of the state it should count actions taken by it on their issues and go to election on these genuine issues only,” said PC Tiwari.

Kashi Singh Airy, a senior leader of statehood agitation in the nineties and former president of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) said that BJP was long planning to keep the issue of Hindu-Muslim in the forefront in the state and started with introducing in UCC and then ignited communal violence at Haldwani.” The real issues of development, farmers, health, permanent capital and education would be swept under the carpet due to these communal politics,” said Airy.

Charu Tiwari, a social activist, journalist and leader of Uttarakhand statehood movement said that when state of Uttarakhand was formed, the people hoped that the hill people will now get relief from discriminating policies of UP state but in last 23 years all the policies of Uttarakhand state are similar to the one adopted during UP days. ” Now such  people have come to power who have started changing narrative of elections by making it communal and if it will continue, the people of Uttrakhand would soon forget the real issues for which this state came into being ,” said Charu Tiwari.

Ajay Kumar, general secretary (Organisation) of Uttarakhand state has said that BJP has enlisted all priority issues related to people of Uttarakhand and gradually working on those.” These so- called social activists have only one agenda in mind to belie the  good work done by BJP in the state,” said Ajay Kumar.