By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Gairsain, 20 Aug: Leader of the Opposition Yashpal Arya and senior Congress legislator Pritam Singh have offered to resign from the Business Advisory Committee of the State Assembly over early adjournment of the session. In a letter written to Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan, both have submitted that they are quitting the Committee as the meetings of the committee and its decisions are partisan and they also urged the Speaker to accept their resignation.
In their letter to Bhushan, Arya and Singh reminded that the Monsoon Session of the State Assembly had been convened till 22nd August and the House should have run at least till 22nd August. They also stated that during the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) held on 18th August, the agenda of the House was finalised only till 19th August and it was stated that another meeting of the Committee would be convened to set the agenda for further days. They also expressed resentment over the fact that despite the assurance, no meeting of the BAC was summoned yesterday.
Arya and Singh recalled that today (20th August), the House sat for the morning session and during this sitting itself, the session was adjourned sine die. It is certain that the government is adopting a dictatorial manner in running of the House. The adjournment of the Session at Bhararisain (Gairsain) within 2 days itself is a fraud on the people of the state.
Both the Congress leaders also stated that there is no point in remaining in the BAC if the government remains adamant in deciding everything regarding the agenda unilaterally. Therefore, they are quitting the Committee and they urged the Speaker to accept their resignations.
Arya later speaking with the media persons, accused the Uttarakhand government of failing to conduct the three-tier panchayat elections in a fair and peaceful manner. He alleged collusion between the ruling party, the administration, and the police to capture panchayat bodies through intimidation, abduction, and false cases against elected representatives. Arya stated that despite the constitutional status accorded to panchayats under the 73rd Amendment, the government deliberately delayed the elections by eight months beyond the expiry of their term and held them during the monsoon season, thereby violating democratic norms.
Arya further claimed that the ruling party has manipulated reservation provisions under Article 243 of the Constitution to suit its political convenience. Despite these alleged irregularities, anti-BJP candidates managed to secure victories in the elections. However, Arya alleged that the ruling party subsequently abducted and harassed elected panchayat representatives under police protection to forcibly capture key posts. He cited incidents in Nainital, Betalghat, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar, and Udham Singh Nagar as examples of deteriorating law and order, stating that such criminal activities have reduced Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand to a state of misgovernance.
Arya further criticised the government for prioritising political manoeuvring over disaster relief, claiming that while several areas in Uttarkashi district, including Dharali, were reeling under natural calamities, the government’s focus remained on securing panchayat control. He expressed disappointment that the opposition’s demand to discuss serious issues such as electoral hooliganism and disaster management under Rule 310 during the monsoon session of the Assembly was ignored. Instead, the session was abruptly adjourned indefinitely without convening a meeting of the business advisory committee.
Arya confirmed that he, along with former Congress President Pritam Singh, had stepped down from their positions on behalf of the party, stating that continuing in the committee under such circumstances was futile.
