PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Dharampur MLA Vinod Chamoli has questioned the intent behind former chief minister Harish Rawat’s Ganga Samman Yatra, stating that respect for Ganga cannot be separated from respect for Sanatan Dharma.
Addressing the media at the BJP headquarters, Chamoli said the Yatra lacks meaning if it does not uphold the values of the Sanatan tradition. He accused Rawat of appeasement politics and said several policies introduced during his tenure were directed towards a specific community. He pointed to Rawat’s past statements, including a remark where Ganga was allegedly referred to as a drain, as contradictory to his current campaign.
He also mentioned decisions like proposing a Muslim university and supporting Friday Namaz with special leaves, which he described as examples of appeasement. The BJP leader further alleged that Rawat has turned the Congress party into a placement agency for his family. He claimed that Rawat’s focus has been on promoting his children and relatives within the party rather than strengthening the organisation.
According to Chamoli, the ongoing Yatra is not for the benefit of the party but for securing the political future of Rawat’s family. Responding to Rawat’s statement that the Congress has become a victim of lies, Chamoli asked who was the person seen in a sting operation during his tenure as CM, allegedly asking for support in exchange for concessions.
He said the people of Uttarakhand have not forgotten these incidents and repeated electoral defeats have shown that public trust has not returned. He said that the State’s voters have consistently rejected what he described as breaches of public trust and that such issues continue to influence public opinion against Rawat.
