Saturday, 11 December 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
On the second day of winter session of state assembly the members of the Congress party members raised the issue of law and order condition of the state vociferously. As soon as the proceedings of the house started on Friday, the Congress members demanded work adjournment on the issue under rule 310. The speaker however ruled that the discussion would be held under rule 58. Initiating a debate on the subject, the leader of opposition (LoP) Pritam Singh said that the recent attack on the former cabinet minister Yashpal Arya and his son Sanjeev Arya in broad daylight clearly shows that the law and order condition in the state has worsened. He alleged that the state government is protecting the culprits and is trying to give a political angle to the issue. Singh demanded that a free and fair inquiry on the issue should be ordered.
The deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Karan Mahra said that the attack on Arya and his son is very unfortunate. He said that a letter purportedly written by one of the officers of the CM office asking the police officer to release three vehicles confiscated by the police as evidence of the prevailing situation in the state.
Kedarnath MLA Manoj Rawat said that the privilege given to the MLAs should be taken back as incidents like attack on the members of the house have become common. Narrating his own experience Rawat said that he was called by a very senior officer to be present during the visit of CM in Kedarnath and said that a helicopter has been kept ready for him. Rawat said that when he reached the helipad, the officers present there ignored his request for a sortie to Kedarnath shrine. He claimed that six sorties took off before him and when he asked the officer present he misbehaved with him. Rawat said that as per the guidelines of UCADA, CCTV cameras should remain installed at helipads, so the authorities should look at the clippings.
Answering the debate the cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal said that data shows that crime figures were more during 2012-2016 than 2017-2021. He said that the law and order situation in the state is good; Uniyal said that the individuals accused in the case of attack on Arya and his son belonged to the Congress party. The response of the minister infuriated the Congress members. Amid pandemonium the deputy speaker Raghunath Singh Chauhan suspended the proceedings of the house for the rest of the day.
