Uttarakhand Congress slams BJP over rising unemployment delay in making Gairsain permanent capital

Dehradun, Nov 9 (PTI) Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal on Monday cornered the BJP-led government over rising unemployment and delay in declaring Gairsain the permanent capital, as he paid tributes to martyrs of the statehood movement.

     He said the Congress government, after the state’s formation, spurred employment by developing industrial hubs in Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Kashipur, and Dehradun.

     “The current BJP government is merely deceiving the state's unemployed youth,” Godiyal alleged.

     Godiyal said Uttarakhand continues to face numerous challenges, as “ much remains to be done to ensure a secure future for women and the younger generation”.

     “When Uttarakhand was formed, two other states -- Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh -- were also created. Both of those states secured their permanent capitals at the time of their inception, whereas a permanent capital for Uttarakhand has yet to be determined,” the state Congress chief said.

     He said it was the previous Congress government that built a legislative building in Gairsain to honour statehood martyrs and fulfil the public’s wishes.

     “A legislative session was subsequently convened there in November 2015. Furthermore, a resolution was passed to hold the 2017 budget session in Gairsain. However, since then, the BJP has merely engaged in misleading the public regarding the issue of the state capital,” he added.

     He further noted that the BJP government recently initiated an "erroneous tradition" by celebrating the State Foundation Day on November 6, a move he claims has deeply pained those who participated in the statehood movement.

     “Such actions should not be repeated in the future,” Godiyal added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)