In what is amounting to be another egregious if subtle abuse of power and insult to the Uttarakhand people and culture by the current state government, the chief minister and his cabinet have been hurrying to name as many institutions after BJP standard bearers and RSS ideologues, perhaps in anticipation to their drubbing in the polls next year. From naming various agencies and educational institutions after Deen Dayal Upadhyay to the Atal Khadyann Yojana after the former BJP Prime Minister and most recently the naming of the Uttarakhand Technical University after “Rajju Bhaiyya”, the BJP has been paying little heed to local sentiments. Indeed, the BJP government’s entire approach has shown contempt for local people and culture, first noted by their promotion of Sanskrit to official language status in contrast to their neglect of the local Garhwali and Kumaoni languages. Interestingly, this policy stands in stark contrast to the previous Congress government’s approach of naming various initiatives after local heroes.
The UKD has noted this arrogant attempt at reducing Uttarakhand into a colony for certain ideologies, aided and abetted by local politicians with little self-respect.
By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Garhwal Post, February 11, 2011
DEHRADUN, 10 Feb: The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal has expressed its resentment against the BJP Government naming development projects, institutions and universities in the name of persons who had nothing to do with Uttarakhand.
“The development programmes should be named after the likes of Indramani Badoni, DD Pant, Vipin Tripathy and other sons of the state,” said Virendra Mohan Uttarakhandi, Central Media-in-charge, UKD. Addressing media persons on behalf of party Central President, Trivendra Singh Panwar, who could not made it to the party headquarters owing to personal reasons, Uttarakhandi said that several people had laid down their lives for the state and their names ought to be considered while naming any projects or institute. He mentioned in this regard persons such as Sridev Suman, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali and Madho Singh Bhandari. Uttarakhandi also took exception to government naming the Uttarakhand Technical University after Rajju Bhaiya. “I suspect political reasons behind naming of the projects and institutes,” he said.
Uttarakhandi also blamed Government for registering land in the names of Tibetans. According to him, citizens of Uttarakhand were landless and lands were being sold to foreigners. He also pointed out that a large piece of land amounting to 42.5 bighas was encroached on by an organisation named Tarun Himalaya in Haridwar near BHEL with involvement of a Minister in the BJP Government. “The UKD demands a CBI probe into this scam,” Uttarakhandi asserted.
