Haridwar, July 10
With Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national chief Nitin Gadkari adamant on neither retracting nor offering apology on his controversial remarks about the Congress regarding convicted terrorist Afzal Guru today, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat advised Gadkari to have restraint while speaking on national issues.

In his own inimitable style Harish Rawat in an exclusive chat with The Tribune termed the remarks as derogatory and a result of depression of the BJP chief emanating from poor turnout at the BJP’s Janakrosh rally in Dehradun aided by subsequent scams that the current state government ministers are allegedly found involved in.

Pointing that one wrong behaviour or word from a national leader directly affects the thinking of the respective party workers Rawat said, “If a party chief uses such foul language, how can we expect good behaviour from common workers? Gadkari’s remarks are totally uncalled for and a direct example of the dejection that has crept in the BJP with back to back parliamentary defeats aided by their internal factionalism”.

Strongly arguing that the delay in Afzal Guru’s punishment is due to the Congress, the state Cabinet minister pointed that the convicted terrorist has filed a mercy plea and as per Indian legalities the President of India will decide whether to grant him mercy or to hold the Apex Court verdict of hanging him to death.

He further added that more than half a dozen such mercy pleas were addressed to the President and it’s not only Afzal Guru whose punishment is getting delayed.

“Even Rajiv Gandhi’s killers after almost two decades of the assassination have not still been hanged? So it’s the legal process, technicalities that are behind the delay. Gadkari should understand first the Indian legal system, the process after court gives death sentence and to restrain while speaking on matters that affects integrity of the nation,” said Rawat who is also an MLA from Haridwar.

Lashing back at the BJP, he cited that it was during their government tenure only that the Parliament attack (2001), Red Fort attack (2000), Akshardham temple attack (2002) and Kandhar hijack episode (1999) happened. The then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh personally handed over terrorists in Afghanistan.

On the industrial package issue, the Union Labour and Employment Minister has questioned the Nishank government’s attempt to politicise the issue. He sought an explanation from Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank that during the BJP tenure of three years, despite industrial package why new industries refrained from coming to the state as well as many units closed down.

Further pointing that the Punjab BJP government has moved to the Supreme Court against the extension package granted to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and if one of the BJP government is itself against industrial package extension, how come the CM Nishank accuses us.

“On the one hand you go to public lamenting that the Central government was not extending the package, and on the other you indirectly create hurdles before us to go ahead on the industrial package,” stated Rawat.

On the question of lobbying been seen for the election of the state party chief and lobbying being seen in the Congress in view of upcoming Assembly elections for the post of the Chief Minister, Rawat, who had led the Congress to victory in the 2002 state elections, said he was a simple party worker whose main motive was to ensure that the party wins all seats, rest is a matter of time with public and party high command playing an important role”.

Dehradun, July 10
The Congress protest against BJP national President Nitin Gadkari’s statement continues in the state. The Dehradun Mahanagar unit of the SC/ST cell of the Congress burnt an effigy of Gadkari at the Kwality Chowk today.

Shravan Kumar Rajoria, mahanagar president of the cell, said Gadkari by making such irresponsible statements had only belittled the coveted post of a national party president.

He said the Congress had a history full of patriotism.

“Congress leaders have sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation and the BJP by calling Afzal Guru a ‘son-in-law of the Congress’ has already revealed its hollow mindset,” he pointed out. Rajoria has also sought resignation from Gadkari.

Lakshmi Narayan, Pratap Singh, Phool Chand Digia, Mausam Singh, Arjun Sonkar, Ramesh and Rakesh Kumar were prominent among the protesters.

Meanwhile, Yogendra Khanduri, a member of the All-India Congress Committee, has also condemned the statement of the BJP national president terming it an attempt to deflect attention from the misdeeds of the state BJP government. He also termed giving a clean chit to the state BJP government by Gadkari as a cruel joke on people of the state.

Dehradun, July 10
A candle march carried out by family members and relatives of Sandeep Dangwal, Merchant Navy officer, whose German ship was hijacked by Somali pirates on April 8, members of the Merchant Navy Association and citizens of the city spread the message of the need to shake up the state government from slumber and swing into act. People on the street joined the march and held lit candles. Members of various organisations also joined the march. Later, they announced the holding of a protest at the Gandhi Park on July 14 and, thereafter, meeting the Governor to submit a memorandum.

The family, that had been ruing the step-motherly treatment meted out to them by politicians and other wings of the society, got some positive response through the candle march. Father Sundermani Dangwal said, “No politician, leave alone the Chief Minister, MLA, MP or even a councillor ever came to sympathies with us”.

Sushila Badoni, Chairperson, State Women Commission, said, “It is only when the public raises an issue that the government listens, otherwise it remains inactive, no matter how grave the issue is. The state government should make efforts to get Sandeep, who is not only the son of this family, but also a representative of the nation on the sea, released as soon as possible”.

Ravinder Jugran, vice-president of the Uttarakhand Andolankari Parishad, appreciated the family’s efforts for having dared to come out on the streets and awakening the masses about their trauma. “The state government and every awakened citizen should stand by the family in this hour of calamity. With this candle march, people will come to know what has been going on with this family all these months”.

Seema Goyal, wife of Capt Pradeep Goyal, who had also been hijacked by Somali pirates in the past, stressed on the media’s role. “The media has to persuade the government to put pressure on the ship company to negotiate with the pirates within short duration of time.”

Capt Shailander Singh, Merchant Navy officer, also urged Sandeep’s family to gather courage and come out more openly on this issue. “The family is under pressure from the ship company that has asked them to keep quiet lest the issue should snowball into a big controversy. To save its name from getting sullied, the company is misleading the family”.

Mussoorie, July 10
In a display of penance in austerity, Digambar Jain saint Sri Sri 108 Vishok Maharaj undertook the Kesh Loach ceremony at Jain Dharamshala in the Mussoorie town. The seer plucked the hair from his body one by one amidst the presence of devotees and public dignitaries. The saint began uprooting his hair from 9 am today and carried on till noon till the last hair was removed from his body.

The devotees sang hymns and offered payers to their lord on the occasion.

It is believed that if tears flow from the eyes during the process, then the whole process of becoming a saint can be nullified.

According to a member of the community Pankaj Jain, Sri Sri 108 Vishok Maharaj has now been elevated to the status of a Muni.

Devotees sought blessings after the culmination of the ceremony from the seer.

Dehradun, July 10
Let down with the apathetic attitude of the state government, brave heart Sunil Chauhan of Gopeshwar, who was conferred with the Jeevan Raksha Padak Award by the President in 2008, is thinking of returning the medal and the certificate he was bestowed with on this Republic Day, to the Governor.

Chauhan was given this honour for saving the life of one-and-half-year-old child from the clutches of a tiger in Gopeshwar in 2006. He is so agitated that he wants to file a defamation case against the government if the guilty officers are not punished.

He alleged that the state government had given him a demand draft of Rs 30,000 sent by the Central government after 10 months and it got lapsed. “I wrote to the state government that the draft sent by them had already lapsed, but they just rendered an apology and didn’t take any action to return the award money. It is not about money, but about my honour,” said Chauhan, who runs a small shop in his hometown.

He also alleged that the state government should give the medal and the certificate in some state function or ceremony.

“Ye sammaan hai, samaan nahi (This is an honour, not an object),” said Chauhan, who was irked by the handing over of the medal and the certificate by the District Magistrate of Chamoli in his room instead of at some state function or ceremony as prescribed by the Centre.

“I am so unhappy that whenever I remember the day I saved the child, I feel bad as to why I was given this honour. It is an incomplete prize,” rued Chauhan, saying that he also met the Chief Minister and the District Magistrate, but they didn’t pay heed.

He apprised The Tribune of the same treatment meted out with another native of the state. “Magni Devi Rawat of Devpryag (Tehri) was also honoured with the same award from saving someone’s life from a bear, but she is also in the same situation. I have left all hope now,” he said.

Nainital, July 10
Working in a close co-ordination, police personnel of Khatima, Tanakpur and Bazpur have busted a gang of drug peddlers operating in the Terai region and seized drugs worth lakhs of rupees from their possession.

According to information, the Khatima police zeroed in on Yogesh Valmiki of Bazpur and Nitish Negi of Khatima on Thursday night after a month-long surveillance and seized 400 gm of heroin from them, which is said to be priced at Rs 40 lakh in the drug market. They were nabbed near Sonia Nala in Chakarpur.

Meanwhile, acting on a tip-off, the Tanakpur police and the Special Operations Group (SOG) nabbed two youths identified as Deppak Chandra Gathodi and Mukesh Bankoti of Khatima and seized 340 gm of heroin from them. They were nabbed from Manihargoth Puliya on the Barrage Road. The contraband is said to be worth Rs 34 lakh.

In yet another operation in Bazpur based on the information gathered from Valmiki, one person was arrested and 4 kg of smack was seized from him which is said to be worth Rs 2 crore in the international market. The leader of the group is said to be Mahipal of Subhash Nagar in Bazpur. Some arms have also been seized from him. Separate cases have been registered against the accused.