PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Terming the suspension of Home Guards director Amitabh Srivastava as an acceptance of gross irregularities and corruption, Uttarakhand Congress spokesman Abhinav Thapar said that the Home Guards uniform scam is a model of state sponsored loot. He said the government had deliberately limited the issue to only one officer. Thapar said that the tender committee of purchases, accounts officer, the officers who had given financial approval and the departmental secretary all are responsible for the scam. He claimed that the case involves infringement of Uttarakhand Procurement regulation 2017, Financial Responsibilities Act and Prevention of Corruption Act. Thapar said that the government should have registered an FIR in the case.
Another spokesperson of Uttarakhand Congress, Pratima Singh said the BJP, which repeatedly talks about zero tolerance against corruption, is immersed neck deep in corruption from head to toe. She said that the Home Guards uniform scam came to light when the former Commandant had written a letter to the government. Singh said that the government has now suspended the deputy commandant without giving him a show cause. She said that the government should order an investigation into all irregularities in the Home Guards. Accusing the government of acting in a selective manner, Singh said that when the Vigilance sought permission to register a case against Minister Ganesh Joshi, the government refused.
She added that the government is also silent in the Sainnya Dham scam which is very unfortunate and shows the respect the BJP government has for the martyrs. Singh said that in Home Guards, the Lathi (cane) worth Rs 130 was bought for Rs 375, shoes worth Rs 500 were bought for Rs 1,500, trouser-shirt pair worth Rs 1,200 was purchased at Rs 3,000 while Jacket worth Rs 500 was bought for Rs 1,580. This shows that the hard-earned money of the common people is being systematically siphoned off. She said that the BJP has also deceived the people on the issue of Lokayukta.
