BJP to stage dharna outside Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat's residence on October 5

DEHRADUN: Peeved at Chief Minister Harish Rawat's alleged refusal to meet the wife and son of a jailed BJP MLA and booking them on charges of breach of peace, BJP in Uttarakhand today said all its MLAs will stage a demonstration outside CM's residence on October 5 and protest against the state government's "growing arrogance and disregard for democratic norms."

Announcing this at a press conference here today, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly and BJP MLA from Ranikhet Ajay Bhatt said close on the heels of refusing to meet a BJP delegation comprising senior leaders, Rawat recently refused to listen to the wife and son of jailed BJP MLA from Gadarpur Arvind Pandey when they had gone to meet him to seek justice.

Accusing the Chief Minister of not only refusing to meet the family of the jailed MLA but also getting the mother-son duo booked for alleged breach of peace, Bhatt said the action confirmed the state government's growing arrogance and disregard for democratic norms.

"Our Gadarpur MLA has been framed in a case of alleged assault on a state government official and his family had gone to see the CM just to demand that a high-level probe be ordered into it so that the truth comes out but they were not just turned away but also booked for breach of peace.

"It seems power has gone into the CM's head and he has lost all consideration for democratic values," Bhatt said.

A party delegation comprising senior leaders including former chief ministers Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank and former state assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor, was given a similar treatment by the Chief Minister just about a week ago, he said adding, this kind of arrogant behaviour cannot be tolerated in a democracy.

"All party MLAs will march to the CM's residence and stage a dharna outside it on October 5 in protest against its arrogant and undemocratic conduct," he said.

Pandey was recently put behind bars for allegedly assaulting a state government official on duty in his constituency.