Three years imprisonment to an Uttaranchal movement agitator, Umesh Gusain by a Tehri court has given a new angle to the political scenario in Uttaranchal just before the Lok Sabha polls. The Uttaranchal movement agitators have bitterly condemned the Congress-led state government for its inaction in the case. People burnt effigies of the Chief Minister, Narayan Dutt Tewari. Meanwhile the youth, Ghambhir Singh Kthaith, who had attempted immolation in Tehri on February 14, has succumbed to injuries on February 19 at Safdarjang hospital in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee has assured a BJP delegation led by State party president, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, in New Delhi to withdraw all pending cases filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during the Uttaranchal movement.
The agitators have termed the sentence to Gusain by the court as an insult to the Uttaranchal movement. The whole State appears to be burning in the fire of violence and agitation. Slogans are being shouted against the State Government while opposition parties have blamed the N.D. Tewari government for failing to withdraw pending cases against the agitation activists that are still lingering in Special CBI courts.
Chief Minister, N.D. Tewari has blamed the Centre for not initiating any step to withdraw the cases against the agitators. On the other hand, the BJP has blamed the State Government for laxity. State BJP president, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari accused the Tewari Government of failing to take up the issue in a proper manner with the Centre. He said that it was the duty of the State Government to ensure justice to those who are still facing court proceedings.
?The matter is not in our hands. Our government is totally committed to withdraw the cases as soon as we get the signal from Centre? said the PWD Minister, Indira Hridayesh. Former Chief Minister, Nityanand Swami pointed out that when he was chief minister he withdrew 350 cases against Uttaranchal agitation activists and also issued appointment letters to 23 people belonging to the martyrs? family. ?But since the Congress came to power two years ago, they have failed to do anything concrete in this case,? said Shri Swami accusing the then P.V. Narasimha Rao government at the Centre for filing cases falsely under serious Sections against the agitation activists in collusion with the then UP Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
