PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Bharatiya Janata Party has criticised former chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat’s Ganga Samman Yatra, calling it an attempt to divert attention from past actions related to appeasement.
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The BJP State media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that Rawat’s decision during his tenure to label the uninterrupted flow of the Ganga as a scrap channel remains an unresolved issue. He stated that several decisions taken by Rawat during his tenure were widely discussed and viewed as contrary to traditional practices.
Responding to media questions, he alleged that the political campaigns of the Congress and its leaders are focused on creating confusion and misleading the public. He further said that people have not forgotten the promises made by the Congress regarding leave for Namaz and the proposal for a Muslim university.
According to him, the 2016 decision to declare the Ganga’s natural flow in Haridwar a scrap channel is still remembered by the public and the religious community. He claimed that this step was taken to benefit land dealers, hotel businesses and mining interests.
Chauhan said that 106 years ago, Madan Mohan Malaviya had opposed the British attempt to convert Har Ki Paidi into a canal. He added that changes were made back then to preserve the river’s original path. However, Chauhan alleged that Rawat altered these rules for the benefit of certain business interests, thereby changing the Ganga’s course.
He questioned the intent behind the Ganga Samman Yatra, saying that it contradicts Rawat’s past actions concerning the river. He added that the BJP government under chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has a consistent record of governance, which has received public support. Chauhan claimed that the Congress is under a mistaken impression and continues to mislead the public.
