Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain just an eyewash: BJP

"The state government must break its silence and clarify whether it wants to allocate Gairsain the stature of the state's summer capital or just use the place during summer as a picnic spot for MLAs and government officials," state BJP spokesman Satish Lakhera said in a statement here.

Accusing the state government of not being serious about the issue and using it just for immediate political gains, the BJP leader said Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has not held an all party meeting on such an important subject despite being in office for nearly a year now.

The state government's decision to build a Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain, for which the foundation stone is to be laid on January 14, and hold at least one session of the House there every year, is being viewed as a deft political move to woo the development starved people of the hill areas.

Though Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal has welcomed the decision of making a Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain, he has also demanded that the place be made the summer capital of the state.

Kunjwal has said it would give a boost to development activities in the mountainous regions.

However, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has been cautious in his statements regarding the issue.

"I prefer to think in terms of immediate goals. The immediate task at hand is to lay the foundation stone for the Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain on January 14.

"The project is likely to take at least three years to complete. Let the Vidhan Bhawan come up there first. Then the MLAs can sit together and discuss whether it is fit to be declared as the summer capital of the state," Bahuguna told reporters evading a direct reply on the issue.