Uttarakhand government hand-in-glove with criminals: BJP

DEHRADUN: BJP today hit out Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat for withdrawing the Governor's decision to set up a police station at Tyuni and said the move clearly vindicates BJP's charge that his government is hand-in-glove with criminals and mafia.

"The manner in which Rawat is taking decisions after returning to power justifies our charge that his government has had a close nexus with the mining, narcotics, liquor and timbre mafia," state BJP spokesman, Munna Singh Chauhan said.

He said one of the first decisions taken by Rawat after assuming office was to annul a decision taken by Governor K K Paul during President's rule to set up a police station in Tyuni in Dehradun district on popular demand.

"Tyuni is known for narcotics, timber, liquor and wildlife smuggling and residents of the area have been demanding a police station for 18 years now. However, state home minister (Pritam Singh) has been opposing its creation tooth and nail," Chauhan said.

Accusing Rawat of running his government like a "barter business", in which MLAs and ministers were being allotted areas and given absolute freedom to run them as their fiefdoms in return for their support, Chauhan said his victory in the assembly floor test was part of this quid-pro-quo.

"Opposing the idea of a police station in Tyuni whose crime rate is higher than that of Dehradun and is a hub of illegal activity puts it beyond doubt that the state government is doing this to promote the interest of the mafia and perpetuate its unholy nexus with them," Chauhan said.