Wednesday, 03 May 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The viral video in which cabinet minister Prem Chand Agrawal is seen entering into a brawl with a person in Rishikesh has given an opportunity for the opposition Congress to attack the BJP government.
Terming the incident as a blot on the face of democracy, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara said that it shows how the ministers of the BJP government treat the general public. He said that the video proves that the BJP government in the State has become despotic, adding that the public representatives should not indulge in such acts. Mahara said that if the BJP high command had taken cognisance of the mistakes of Agrawal earlier and taken action on him, then the BJP workers would not have had to feel ashamed of the behaviour of the minister now. He said that Agrawal is a cabinet minister who had held the post of Assembly speaker and the society expects him to behave in a civilised manner. The PCC president said that the backdoor appointments made by Agrawal during his tenure as speaker were cancelled by speaker Ritu Khanduri but no action was taken against Agrawal.
The Congress State vice president Dhirendra Pratap said that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should remove Agrawal from his cabinet. He said that the police should register a case against the minister and arrest him. Terming the incident as the black day in the history of Uttarakhand, Pratap said that the minister should tender an apology for his behaviour.
Party’s State vice president Surya Kant Dhasmana said that it is not the first time Agrawal has behaved in such a manner. Demanding the minister’s resignation, he said that the Congress workers would hit the road if no action is taken against the minister. Terming the incident in which a minister is beating a person in Rishikesh, the State spokesperson of Congress Garima Dasauni said that the bike of a youth touched the car of the minister during a traffic jam. She claimed that the minister lost his cool in such a trivial matter and started thrashing the bike rider. Dasauni said that the incident reflects the mindset of the ruling party in Uttarakhand.
