Whistle blower who raised alleged corruption cases of Uttarakhand BJP leaders, externed
Whistle blower who raised alleged corruption cases of Uttarakhand BJP leaders, externed
S.M.A.KAZMI
Dehradun , July 30
Before the 25th anniversary celebrations of Kargil Vijay Diwas in Uttarakhand, a state with a majority of households associated with armed forces, a cradle of the famed Garhwal, Kumoan and Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army, a whistleblower who raised the issue of alleged discrepancies in the construction of ‘Sainik Dham’, an appropriate memorial for soldiers in Dehradun and other disproportionate assets cases of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ministers, was externed from the district under Goonda Act on July 25,2024.
Vikesh Negi, an advocate and Right to Information (RTI) activist, who has been in the forefront of exposing the alleged disproportionate assets cases of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ministers for the past sometimes was held and was externed from Dehradun district on July 25, 2024. As he was getting too inconvenient for the ruling BJP government, he was taken to the boundary of the Dehradun district with Tehri district and amidst beating of drums as the practice for hardened criminal externed for six months.
Vikesh Negi had made life hell for the ruling BJP leaders and ministers through his exposes with use of RTI Act. Earlier, he charged Dehradun Mayor and BJP leader Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ of attaining disproportionate assets against his known sources of income. Later, he charged Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Ganesh Joshi of similar charges. He alleged that Ganesh Joshi received a salary of Rs. 36 lakh and 54 thousand as salary from 2007 till 2023 as a legislator and minister but in the election affidavit of 2022 assembly elections, Ganesh Joshi had declared assets worth Rs. Nine crores. Negi wrote to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminding him of his resolve to fight corruption and also asked the state vigilance to take appropriate action against the minister.
But this time Vikesh Negi touched a sensitive chord by charging the Uttarakhand BJP government in which Ganesh Joshi is Sainik Welfare Minister of alleged misappropriation of funds in the construction of Sainik Dham, a soldiers’ memorial. A dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who termed it as the fifth ‘Dham’ after the four revered ‘Char Dhams’ of Badrinath, Kedarmnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri to be built at Purukul village on the outskirts of Dehradun to honour the soldiers at cost of Rs.49 crore.
Vikesh Negi publicly alleged that the project which was to be built by November 8, 2023 at an initial cost of Rs. 49 crore has overshot budget and now pegged at Rs.99 crore. Ironically, the project is nowhere near completion. He revealed that majorly the money for the project is coming from Union government but the project is being executed by Uttarakhand Peyjal Sansdhan and Vikas Nirman Nigam, a state government corporation.
He also alleged irregularities in the grant of tender for the project for which global tenders were not invited and interestingly, two companies which submitted their bids got their stamp and papers notarized from the same vendor. These allegations that too on the issue of alleged corruption in the construction of ‘Sainik Dham’ was too much for ruling BJP which boasts of robust nationalism as its’ main political plank.
In an order issued by the Court of District Magistrate, released by Dehradun police, Vikesh Negi has been shown found indulging in forcible taking over lands, land frauds and other criminal activities in the past. A list of five cases filed against him by the police was also submitted. The Nehru colony Police station of Dehradun said that the list of criminal cases against Vikesh Negi was submitted to the office of District Magistrate and an externment order passed against him.
Vikesh Negi in a face book alleged that he was being targeted for exposing several scams, disproportionate assets cases of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ministers and other land scams through RTI and PIL’s in the courts. He sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) into the case.
His internment by the Dehradun police is being questioned by various political parties. A delegation of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), a regional outfit submitted a memorandum to the Dehradun District Magistrate seeking revocation of his internment order. An-ex-servicemen body in Tehri where he has been sent felicitated him for his courage in bringing out alleged corrupt deals of the ruling party. Uttarakhand Purv Sainik and Ardh Sainik Sanyukt Sangathan in a meeting at tehri demanded that the externment order should be taken back. Chairing the meeting, S.S. Pangti, a former IAS officer said that order against Vikesh Negi was worst kind of dictatorship.
Garima Dasuani, a spokesperson of the Uttarakhand Congress who had also sought a probe into the alleged ‘Sainik Dham” construction scandal, said that externment action against Vikesh Negi was unwarranted and the BJP government should probe his allegations. She said that if Vikesh negi has done anything unlawful than the law should take its’ own course but asked that how many people who are alleged involved in fare more serious cases have been externed by the BJP government.
Indresh Maikhuri, Uttarakhand secretary of the CPI (ML) has also condemned government action and sought a probe into the allegations of corruption against senior BJP leaders. Manorath Prasad Dhayani, general secretary of UKD said that the present BJP government has shown its’ fascist and dictatorial attitude by lodging false cases against Ashutosh Negi who was helping the parents of murdered young girl Ankita Bhandari at Srinagar Garhwal and also implicating Bobby Panwar, who took up corruption in government jobs.
Dhirendra Pratap, a senior Uttarakhand Congress leader appealed to the state Governor to revoke the dictatorial externment order of the state government against advocate Vikesh Negi. He said that such dictatorial and fascist tendencies could not be tolerated in Uttarakhand.
