PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Congress on Friday staged a demonstration at the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun, alleging that party banners, posters and hoardings installed for the February 16 state-level rally and Raj Bhavan gherao had been removed without prior notice even before the rally was held.
Led by a president of Mahanagar Congress, Jaswinder Singh Gogi, party workers gathered at the civic body office, alleging that the banners and posters of their party had been removed at the behest of the ruling party leaders. The Congress said that the publicity material, including cut-outs placed across key city locations, had been taken down abruptly, disrupting preparations for the programme.
Following the demonstration, a memorandum, addressed to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was submitted through the district magistrate. Dehradun’s sub-divisional magistrate Kumkum Joshi received the memorandum on behalf of the administration.
Gogi termed the removal of banners an ‘insult to democracy’ and questioned why similar enforcement measures were not seen during events organised by other political parties. He demanded a fair inquiry and action against the officials responsible.
The State Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana alleged that the government had been attempting to divert attention from governance concerns, including law and order, crimes against women, unemployment and wild animal attacks in parts of Uttarakhand. He said that the administrative action targeting opposition outreach reflected selective enforcement. During the protest, neither the municipal commissioner nor the mayor was present in their offices.
