PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal has said the chairman of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) Hemant Dwivedi should immediately tender his resignation in the wake of new revelation made by one of the accused in the offering theft case at Badrinath Dham. Interacting with the media persons at Congress Bhawan on Monday, Godiyal said that the second accused in the case, Rajendra Chauhan has told the Police that he used to get orders from his higher ups and Pramod Nautiyal (the prime accused). He said that the strings of corruption are reaching directly to the doorstep of the BKTC chairman Dwivedi.
Questioning the silence of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the case, the PCC president said that efforts are being made to save the BKTC chairman in the case which has hurt the sentiments of crores of the Sanatanis.
Godiyal said Hemant Dwivedi was the chairman of the Terai Seed Development Corporation between 2009 and 2012. During this period, he was accused of financial irregularities and scams in the corporation. Godiyal said that in 2012, Dwivedi was unceremoniously removed from his post by the then BJP government. He said that Dwivedi who was sacked from the position of chairman of TSDC was appointed as a head of an institution governing the functioning of sacred places such as Badrinath and Kedarnath.
Godiyal claimed that he has been demanding an investigation into the corruption committed by Cooperation minister Dhan Singh Rawat since 2022, which is why the government is trying to divert attention from the real issue by making false allegations against him at his instigation.
General secretary (Organization) of State Congress Rajendra Bhandari, Amarjit Singh, spokespersons Pratima Singh, Abhinav Thapar and Rajesh Chamoli accompanied the PCC president.
