INTERVIEW
The leader of opposition in Vidhan Sabha Yashpal Arya is considered to be one of the senior most and affable leaders of Uttarakhand. In an interaction with Gajendra Singh Negi of The Pioneer, Arya talks about Haldwani purification, preparations of the Congress party for Vidhan Sabha election- 2027 and other issues.
The Haldwani ‘purification’ incident has created a political furore in the State. What is your opinion on it?
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is one of the seniormost and respected leaders of the country and he has an impeccable record of raising voice against social injustice. As part of a slander campaign, people linked with the ruling BJP conducted a purification of the ground where Kharge ji addressed a public rally in Haldwani. This shows the mind-set of the BJP. What is concerning is that the State BJP president Mahendra Bhatt and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami defended the action of ‘purification’.
What is the stand of the Congress party on the purification incident?
We are not doing politics on the issue. The Congress wants that a case should be registered against those involved in the incident and a fair investigation is held in the case. Instead of taking action against the culprits, a FIR against leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi has been registered which is most unfortunate. It is clear that the BJP is engaging in divisive politics on the issue.
The BJP has ruled the State for almost 10 years now. How do you rate the performance of the government?
The current government is the most corrupt government the State has ever seen. Corruption is rampant everywhere. The precious resources of the State are being sold. People close to the power are involved in an open loot of the resources. Crime against women is on the rise, the parents of Ankita Bhandari have yet to get justice and the identity of the VIP involved in the crime is still undisclosed. The unemployed are suffering from a series of paper leaks. The health services are in very bad condition and more than 5,000 government schools in the State are on the verge of closure. The State is at top of the table in the cases of crime against women. BJP leaders and people close to them are involved in most of the cases of crime against women. The government has no clue to stop the migration from the mountainous areas of the State. In a nutshell, the BJP government has failed miserably on every front.
What are the major issues on which the Congress will contest the Vidhan Sabha elections of 2027?
Corruption is the biggest issue which we will take to the people of the State. We are preparing a roadmap of the progress of the State in our manifesto which will focus on restoration of governance in the State. Our manifesto will focus on providing employment opportunities, strict land laws, prevention of migration, strengthening harmony and social justice. We will implement the Old Pension Scheme for the State government employees and take strict action on the land, forest and liquor mafia currently ruling the roost in the State. The people of the State are eager to change the government and they are looking at the Congress party with high hopes.
The organisation of the BJP has already come into an election mode but the Congress looks unprepared. What is your view?
We are fully geared up for the Vidhan Sabha elections. We have reorganised the Pradesh Congress Committee and all the frontal organisations. The work on preparation of the manifesto is going at a fast pace. Congress president Kharge and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have already toured the State and set the tone of the campaign of the party for the elections. Many senior leaders including former MLAs are keen to join the party and soon many of them will take the membership of Congress. All the workers of the Congress are geared up to throw BJP out of power.
There is general belief that the infighting between senior leaders of Uttarakhand Congress will prove very costly for the party. What is your opinion?
All the senior leaders of the party are united and all of them have committed themselves to bring the Congress back to power in the State.
