Cong alleges neglect of U'khand by Centre; threatens protests

Accusing the Centre of "neglecting" Uttarakhand, Congress here today said it will demonstrate in New Delhi before the houses of BJP MPs from the state and threatened to not let any Union ministers enter the hill state until there was a change in government's attitude towards it.
In the first phase of the party's agitation to be launched on August 13, Congress workers from Dehradun and Haridwar will gather outside BJP MP from Haridwar, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank's residence in the national capital and protest there, Pradesh Congress President Kishore Upadhyay told reporters here.
The demonstration will be against Pokhriyal's alleged "failure" to mount pressure on the Centre for releasing funds for the Ardhakumbh Mela to be organised on the banks of the Ganga next year, he said.

Charging all the five BJP MPs from the state with "failure" to take up the cause of the state, which was hit by a disaster, in Parliament, Upadhyay said, similar protest demonstrations will be held outside the houses of the rest of the BJP MPs in the national capital in a bid to "awaken" them to the problems facing Uttarakhand.
"Party workers will not let any of the BJP ministers from Delhi to enter Uttarakhand unless the centre sheds its attitude of neglect to the calamity-ravaged state where over 350 villages in affected areas are yet to be relocated and an Ardhakumbh Mela is to be held next year, for which not a penny has been released yet," he claimed.

"None of the MPs from the state seem bothered. The Ardhakumbha Mela is drawing near and arrangements are to be made on a massive scale to manage the crowds which converge on the banks of the Ganga to celebrate the occasion.
"Still not a penny has been sanctioned by the Centre for the purpose not to speak of the Rs 1000 crore sought by the state government," the PCC chief said.