Bhatt advises against politicising sensitive issue
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal visited Rikholi in Pauri district and met the family members of Keshav Negi who was working as a cook in the hotel where a fire claimed 22 lives in Delhi on June 3. Negi was arrested by Delhi police, after which chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called his Delhi counterpart Rekha Gupta who had assured him that no innocent person will suffer injustice.
On Monday, the PCC president met Negi’s family members in his village. He later said, “We express our deep condolence for all those who lost their lives in this fire. However, arresting Keshav Negi as if he was responsible for the fire while working as the chef raises various serious questions. An impartial inquiry should be conducted if there was a lapse in safety measures and those who are actually responsible should face action. Making a common person a sacrificial goat is not justice,” Godiyal said.
Targetting the BJP, the Congress leader said that the BJP leaders who claim to be defending the interests of Uttarakhand’s people have limited their efforts to making statements. If the government is really serious, it should intervene and ensure an impartial probe and justice. The entire Uttarakhand stands with Negi and his family, Godiyal added.
Meanwhile, BJP State president and Rajya Sabha member Mahendra Bhatt said that such a sensitive issue should not be politicised. He told The Pioneer, “CM Dhami talked to the Delhi CM regarding this case. In legal cases, actions are taken according to the law. At times, the police take persons into custody for questioning to ascertain the truth. In a sensitive matter which has resulted in the deaths of 22 persons, the truth must come out and the guilty should face justice. There is no scope for politics here and one should abstain from playing politics in such a matter,” he said.
