Monday, 29 APRIL 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ravindra Singh Anand disclosed the names of 24 individuals who he claimed had opposed holding the Assembly session in the summer capital Gairsain.
Informing the media Anand said that it had been decided in the past to conduct the Assembly in Gairsain on February 26, but due to the influence of certain leaders, the session was held in Dehradun instead. Seeking transparency, he filed an RTI application at the Vidhan Sabha secretariat to identify the MLAs and others involved in the decision to not hold the session in Gairsain. He alleged that initially, there was an attempt to withhold this information. Subsequently, he submitted a letter to the chief minister’s office requesting the disclosure of certain names through an RTI application. In response, the chief minister’s office secretariat revealed the names of 24 MLAs, whereas sources claim that a total of 38 MLAs, ministers, and positions holders were mentioned in the letter seeking shifting of the session to Dehradun, he added.
He further informed that the names of 14 position holders remain undisclosed at the government’s discretion. He further asserted that MLAs and ministers who oppose holding sessions at the Gairsain Assembly building cannot be regarded as benefactors of the State. He described them as being in opposition to the interests of Uttarakhand’s residents, categorising them as anti-Uttarakhand. Anand emphasised that those who refuse to visit the location due to snow and cold weather lack the right to identify themselves as Pahari. The real Pahari is the one who was born in the mountains and is used to cold and snow and should not go and settle in the plains due to fear of it. He added that the rest of the 14 names of leaders will soon be disclosed as he will once again appeal RTI to know the rest of the hidden names.
The MLAs whose names Anand disclosed include the MLAs of Purola, Didihat, Nanakmatta, Ranikhet, Ranipur, Sahaspur, Roorkee, Dehradun Cantt, Doiwala, Pauri and Haldwani, among others.
