PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal has said that the alleged financial irregularities in the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) revealed in a Right to Information (RTI) query have exposed the BJP government of the State. He said during his tenure as BKTC president, he had tried to set an example by never taking even a single rupee from BKTC as TA/DA or honorarium. Notably, a RTI filed by the advocate Vikesh Negi has revealed that BKTC used donation money for paying the hotel bills of some leaders of BJP.
The PCC president said that he believed that the money received from donations should be spent only on the management of the temple. He said that despite the availability of sufficient personnel in BKTC, private appointments are being made and allowances are being paid in violation of government orders, which is worrying. Godiyal alleged that the BJP government has made religious institutions a medium of political patronage and corruption.
He demanded that the State government should order an impartial investigation in the episode. Strict action should be taken against the culprits and financial transparency in BKTC should be ensured, he added. The PCC president also demanded that the BKTC should recover payments from all those on whom the temple committee’s funds were spent.
