BJP accuses Uttarakhand government of criminal negligence

The BJP Wednesday accused the Uttarakhand government of criminal negligence for the death of pilgrims and tourists during last month's floods in the state and demanded the sacking of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president Uma Bharati, who visited the Kedarnath temple as part of a three-member team of her party, said that the deaths were caused due to "carelessness of the administration".

"The people should have been evicted from Kedarnath area in the wake of incessant rains. There was criminal negligence. I hold the Uttarakhand government guilty," she said.

She said the maximum number of deaths in the floods in Uttarakhand had taken place in the Kedar valley.

Bharati said that it had rained in the area from June 14 and the state government should have evacuated people by June 16.

She added that the state government had not been able to come out with a figure of the total loss of lives and urged the home ministry to ask all police stations in the country to get exact information of how many people had left for Uttarakhand last month and how many of them did not return.

She said the Bahuguna government had failed completely in relief and rehabilitation and said she agreed with party leader Sushma Swaraj that such a chief minister should be sacked.