PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal has said that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should take immediate cognizance of the issue of offering theft in Badrinath Dham and remove the chairman of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) from his position. Interacting with the media persons at the headquarters of the State Congress on Monday, the PCC president said that the BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi cannot shirk away from his responsibility in the issue which has hurt the sentiments of the millions of followers of Sanatan Dharma.
He said that the personal assistant of the BKTC chairman was transferred from Dehradun and was deputed in the work of counting of donations. Godiyal claimed that the person arrested by the police in the offering theft case has threatened to divulge everything and now efforts are being made to protect the influential people in the case. He said that it has come to his notice that the arrested person is being pressured to keep quiet on the assurance that he too will be let off the hook after sometime.
The PCC president said that it is clear that influential people are involved in the case. He said that the facts that CM Dhami has failed to take action against the BKTC chairman and it took more than five days to arrest the person directly involved in theft prove that efforts are being made to hush up the issue. Godiyal said that a person occupying the position of chairman of BKTC should be transparent in his actions and deeds. He also challenged Dwivedi for a public debate on the issue.
Responding to the comment of BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt in which he said that the people of a particular caste should not be questioned in such cases, Godiyal said that the criminals have no caste or religion.
