Dehradun, Oct 22 (IANS) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Thursday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a two-phase ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ campaign across the state from October 22 to November 30, while accusing the Congress of attempting to create “an atmosphere of distrust” in the democratic system by opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In a post on social media platform X, CM Dhami said: “Instead of accepting its electoral defeat, the Congress is engaged in creating an atmosphere of distrust towards the democratic system by raising questions on constitutional institutions and the electoral process. The politics of questioning the people’s decision and pinning the blame for defeat on constitutional institutions will now be exposed before the public with facts.”
“With this very objective, BJP will run the ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ campaign across the state in two phases from October 22 to November 30. The first phase will run from October 22 to November 5, and the second phase from November 11 to November 30,” he said, while adding that during this period, awareness about democratic values will be raised by reaching out to the people through padayatras and public dialogue programs in all 13 districts of the state, and the achievements of the Central and state governments will be communicated to every individual.
Maintaining that in democracy it is the Opposition’s right to criticise the government, the Chief Minister said: “No one can be allowed to resort to violence, anarchy, and actions that hurt the dignity of constitutional institutions under the guise of protest. Every attempt to spread disorder under the cover of democracy will be firmly countered in a democratic manner.”
Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, the Uttarakhand CM criticised the Opposition, particularly the Congress, over allegations of “vote theft”.
Defending the SIR process, CM Dhami said: “I was born in Pithoragarh. Later, as I grew up, I studied in the Khatima area and expanded my work there. At present, I am the MLA from the Champawat Assembly constituency. Now, because of my responsibilities in Dehradun, I regularly live in Dehradun. In such a situation, where should my voter registration be: Pithoragarh, Champawat or Dehradun?”
“I have always voted in Khatima, where my mother lives and where my family has been based from the beginning. Since my name also appeared on the voter lists in Dehradun as well as Pithoragarh and Champawat, where people had suggested that my vote could also be registered, I got my voter registration streamlined and corrected at all three places,” he added.
The Chief Minister asked: “In such a situation, what objection should I have?”
Chief Minister Dhami also claimed that the Congress, as well as its alliance partners, have not been able to “digest” the mandates received by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2014.
“The efforts made in recent days to disrupt the situation and order prevailing in the country are not in keeping with the spirit of a healthy democracy,” he said.
Pointing to Congress being out of power in several places even before Gyanesh Kumar was appointed the Chief Election Commissioner, CM Dhami said: “Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar assumed office after 2024, whereas the Congress party has been losing elections for several years. In many states, Congress has been struggling to return to power for decades.”
“Congress was wiped out of power in Odisha 26 years ago, Gujarat 41 years ago, Uttar Pradesh 37 years ago, Bihar 36 years ago, Tripura 33 years ago, West Bengal 49 years ago and Tamil Nadu 59 years ago, whom will Congress blame for this?” he remarked.
The Uttarakhand CM accused the Congress of not respecting the people’s mandate and instead blaming the system for its own failures.
“It is easy to carry a copy of the Constitution, but one should learn to conduct himself in accordance with it,” CM Dhami said in a veiled jibe at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
He also added that slogans of “regime change” have been raised by “new young faces” entering politics, which has been “encouraged by the Congress”.
“The Congress party must answer for those who make statements like ‘we will turn this into Bangladesh’. Look at the kind of anarchy, violent protests, and unrest taking place across seven countries in the world today—do they want to create a similar atmosphere here as well?” CM Dhami asked while saying that instead of citing political turmoil and unrest in foreign countries, Congress should focus on understanding the expectations of the Indian public.
“The energy of our nation’s youth should be channeled into nation-building, and they should be provided with opportunities rather than being pushed into confrontations,” he asserted.
–IANS
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