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High command seeks explanation from Tiwari

C. K. Chandramohan

Disruption of Assembly by ruling party MLAs

DEHRA DUN: Sore at the failure of the Narain Dutt Tiwari Government to smoothly conduct the Budget Session of the Uttaranchal Assembly due to repeated adjournments forced by the pandemonium by MLAs close to the party president, Harish Rawat, the Congress high command has sought a detailed explanation from both Mr Tiwari and Mr Rawat.

"This is perhaps the first time in parliamentary history that ruling party MLAs did not allow the House to function for nearly the whole of the Budget Session and the Congress owes an explanation to the masses as to how such an undemocratic precedent was allowed to be set," said R. P. Dangwal, a senior Congressman, at the party headquarters here on Saturday.

Many others, including R S Tamta and P Barfal wanted the party president, Sonia Gandhi, to immediately form a core committee to remove the indiscipline in the ruling party and the high-level of corruption going on in Uttaranchal or else the party will be doomed in the next and subsequent State and general elections.

A number of Congressmen also questioned the grant of Rs 50 lakhs by the Chief Minister, Mr Tiwari, to the Information Technology Institute for the Tribes of India run by the Sangh Parivar. Not only was the institution given 12 acres of land practically free of cost, the funds are allegedly being used to impart saffronised education to about 25 odd tribal children. It is interesting to note that when Mr Tiwari announced the State Government's contribution the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was chief guest at the function said that he had no option but to sanction Rs one crore for the institution as Mr Tiwari had already given Rs 50 lakhs. More, a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader is said to have grabbed about 25 bighas of prime land near the institute.

It may be mentioned that the Budget session was not allowed to function from day-one as Congress MLAs led by former Revenue Minister, Harak Singh Rawat sought a probe into the conspiracy angle of the Jenny sex scandal due to which he lost his job. Then this same group obstructed the proceedings on the delimitation issue leaving no scope for the Opposition to raise their questions. The House adjourned sine die after hurriedly passing the budget in a few minutes.

Although Mr Harish Rawat describes the explanation sought by the high command as a mere routine, senior Congressmen feel that the common man had lost all hopes from the present regime which spent more time and funds on false propaganda to prove that Uttaranchal was the most happening place in the country. A CBI probe into the mass scale loot of the treasury and doling out of prime reserve forest lands near the Corbett National Park or Government orchards to influential private parties in the name of infrastructure development or diversion of public funds to select NGOs would pinpoint at the tip of the iceberg, said Kamlesh Pant, a social worker.

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High command seeks explanation from Tiwari

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