Concerned at the slow pace of relief and rescue work in disaster-hit
Uttarakhand, the seat of four major Hindu shrines, and worried that BJP
leader Narendra Modi will take full advantage of it, a section of
Congress leaders are keen that the central government directly oversee
rescue and relief operations. They have requested party president Sonia
Gandhi that this be done.
On Saturday, Modi who was in Dehradun, met chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and offered to renovate the Kedarnath temple complex. He visited Devprayag, Tehri Dam, Badrinath, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Chamoli, Gopeshwar, Gaurikund, Kedar Ghati, Joshimath, Agastmuni and found people lacking food and medicines.
A number of leaders including water resoruces minister Harish Rawat, reviewed the arrangements in Dehradun on Saturday and found gaping holes in it. The apprehension is that mismanagement by the Congress government in Uttarakhand will have a political fall-out for the party in the rest of country that’s gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Party leaders met Gandhi and impressed upon her that the disaster is a God-sent opportunity for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to exploit the situation politically. They pointed out that Modi landed in Dehradun for no other reason than to establish a chord with the vast number of the trapped pilgrims in the area.
These leaders are believed to have even petitioned for the imposition of President’s Rule for the time being.
The biggest worry is that since Uttarakhand is home to the Chaar Dham, the four major Hindu religious shrines, Modi could well play this tragedy to raise passions against the Congress in the rest of the country.
Modi, the newly-appointed chairman of the BJP’s election campaign committee, is scheduled to hold a rally in Pathankot, Punjab on Sunday.
With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi abroad, his mother has been overseeing the situation in Uttarakhand. On Friday, she asked all Congress legislatives and MPs to donate a month’s salary towards a relief fund. She also directed the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and state unit chiefs to collect relief to be sent to two camps supervised by two AICC secretaries and Seva Dal workers.
On Saturday, Modi who was in Dehradun, met chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and offered to renovate the Kedarnath temple complex. He visited Devprayag, Tehri Dam, Badrinath, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Chamoli, Gopeshwar, Gaurikund, Kedar Ghati, Joshimath, Agastmuni and found people lacking food and medicines.
A number of leaders including water resoruces minister Harish Rawat, reviewed the arrangements in Dehradun on Saturday and found gaping holes in it. The apprehension is that mismanagement by the Congress government in Uttarakhand will have a political fall-out for the party in the rest of country that’s gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Party leaders met Gandhi and impressed upon her that the disaster is a God-sent opportunity for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to exploit the situation politically. They pointed out that Modi landed in Dehradun for no other reason than to establish a chord with the vast number of the trapped pilgrims in the area.
These leaders are believed to have even petitioned for the imposition of President’s Rule for the time being.
The biggest worry is that since Uttarakhand is home to the Chaar Dham, the four major Hindu religious shrines, Modi could well play this tragedy to raise passions against the Congress in the rest of the country.
Modi, the newly-appointed chairman of the BJP’s election campaign committee, is scheduled to hold a rally in Pathankot, Punjab on Sunday.
With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi abroad, his mother has been overseeing the situation in Uttarakhand. On Friday, she asked all Congress legislatives and MPs to donate a month’s salary towards a relief fund. She also directed the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and state unit chiefs to collect relief to be sent to two camps supervised by two AICC secretaries and Seva Dal workers.
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